I will set down a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his father, which latter had it of HIS father, this last having in like manner had it of HIS father-and so on, back and still back, three hundred years and more, the fathers transmitting it to the sons and so preserving it. It may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition. It may have happened, it may not have happened: but it COULD have happened. It may be that the wise and the learned believed it in the old days; it may be that only the unlearned and the simple loved it and credited it.

The Prince and the Pauper

La Vie Sur Le Mississipi Coffret 2 Volumes

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer revolves around the youthful adventures of the novel's schoolboy protagonist, Thomas Sawyer, whose reputation precedes him for causing mischief and strife. Tom lives with his Aunt Polly, half-brother Sid, and cousin Mary in the quaint town of St. Petersburg, just off the shore of the Mississippi River. St. Petersburg is described as a typical small-town atmosphere where the Christian faith is predominant, the social network is close-knit, and familiarity resides.  Unlike his brother Sid, Tom receives "lickings" from his Aunt Polly; ever the mischief-maker, would rather play hooky than attend school and often sneaks out his bedroom window at night to adventure with his friend, Huckleberry Finn ­ the town's social outcast. Tom, despite his dread of schooling, is extremely clever and would normally get away with his pranks if Sid were not such a "tattle-tale."  As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom the chore of whitewashing the fence surrounding the house. In a brilliant scheme, Tom is able to con the neighborhood boys into completing the chore for him, managing to convince them of the joys of whitewashing. At school, Tom is equally as flamboyant, and attracts attention by chasing other boys, yelling, and running around. With his usual antics, Tom attempts to catch the eye of Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get "engaged" by kissing him. But their romance collapses when she learns Tom has been "engaged" previously to Amy Lawrence. Shortly after Becky shuns him, he accompanies Huckleberry Finn to the graveyard at night, where they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson.Excerpt:"TOM!" No answer. "TOM!" No answer. "What's gone with that boy,  I wonder? You TOM!" No answer. The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service—she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well. She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear: "Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll—" She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat. "I never did see the beat of that boy!"

Les Aventures de Tom Sawyer

Huckleberry, Huck pour les amis, est un jeune vagabond livré à lui-même, son père, alcoolique et violent, ne faisant que de brèves apparitions dans sa vie. Au début de l'histoire, on le retrouve adopté par une veuve riche et charitable, qui tâche de faire de lui un gentleman. Un véritable défi pour qui connaît Huckleberry. Pourtant, le sauvageon se civilise, apprend à lire... mais son père réapparaît, et Huck prend la fuite, en compagnie d'un esclave noir. C'est le début d'une série d'aventures au fil des eaux tumultueuses du Mississippi, au cours desquelles on rencontrera une foule de personnages pittoresques, et bien sûr l'ami Tom Sawyer...Extrait :L’ami de Tom, c’est moi, Huckleberry Finn. Si vous n’avez pas lu les Aventures de Tom Sawyer, vous ne me connaissez pas. Cela ne fait rien : nous aurons vite lié connaissance. M. Mark Twain vous a raconté l’histoire de Tom, et il y a mis un peu du sien, même en parlant de moi. Cela ne fait rien non plus, puisqu’on m’assure qu’il n’a ennuyé personne. La tante Polly, Mary Sawyer et la veuve Douglas ne disaient jamais que la vérité, et elles n’étaient pas toujours amusantes.Je parle de la tante de Tom, de sa cousine, et de la veuve qui m’avait adopté...

Les Aventures de Huck Finn

La Vie sur le Mississippi, Tome 2

Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain.

It was written in 1870-71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first travel book The Innocents Abroad (1869).

The book follows the travels of young Mark Twain through the Wild West during the years 1861-1867.

(from wikipedia.org)

Roughing it

I racconti che compongono Il Diario di Adamo ed Eva, così divertenti e ispirati, non è un caso forse che siano stati scritti proprio nello stesso periodo in cui furono concepite le pagine di Huckleberry Finn, il capolavoro di Twain, anche se poi, pur molto famoso, stranamente riuscì a pubblicarli solo anni dopo, e solo come opuscolo omaggio per promuovere il turismo alle cascate del Niagara, in prossimità delle quali, a Buffalo per la precisione, Twain è costretto nel libro, appunto, a spostare nientemeno che l'Eden... Un racconto divertente di lenta scoperta dell'altrui sesso condotta dal primo uomo e dalla prima donna della Terra. Una nuova edizione tutta da collezionare con una traduzione rieditata, splendide illustrazioni inedite e una prefazione d'eccezione.

Il diario di Adamo ed Eva

Les Aventures de Huck Finn debutent par le retour du père de Huck. Ce dernier, cupide, violent et alcoolique, a appris la découverte du trésor par les enfants lors de leurs démêlés avec Joe l'Indien. Il souhaite donc recuperer son fils, qu'il avait abandonné. Son seul dessein étant de mettre la main sur le trésor découvert par Tom et Huck. Huck Finn fuit son père alcoolique et brutal et fait croire qu'il a été assassiné. Il se retrouve sur les routes aux côtés de Jim, un esclave noir en fuite, qui lui est recherche, car on le soupconne justement d'être le meurtrier de Huck. Les deux fugitifs souhaitent gagner ensemble, en radeau, le Nord abolitionniste. Égarés sur le fleuve à la suite d'une tempête, ils sont rattrapés et ne doivent leur salut qu'a deux escrocs, qui s'empressent de revendre Jim ... à l'oncle de Tom Sawyer. Pour Huck et Tom, c'est l'heure des retrouvailles. C'est aussi celle des projets imagines pour rendre a Jim sa liberté."

Les Aventures de Huck Finn: L'Ami de Tom Sawyer

Début du 20e siècle : la campagne contre la gestion de l'Etat indépendant du Congo sous la souveraineté du roi Léopold II, bat son plein. Partie d'Angleterre, elle s'étend à l'Europe continentale et aux Etats-Unis. En France, Charles Péguy prend position. En Angleterre, Arthur Conan Doyle dénonce les conditions réservées aux indigènes dans la récolte du caoutchouc. Aux Etats-Unis, Mark Twain, l'auteur de Tom Sawyer, est sollicité pour écrire un pamphlet. Ce sera Le soliloque du roi Léopold, dans lequel le grand humoriste met en scène un monarque monologuant contre ces critiques et sur sa mission civilisatrice. Cette charge virulente et baroque est rééditée ici dans la traduction et avec une introduction de Jean-Pierre Orban qui resitue le Soliloque dans l'œuvre de Mark Twain et décrit le mouvement international ayant poussé Léopold II à céder le Congo à la  Belgique.

The Prince and the Pauper

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