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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Oxford World's Classics)

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable Clashing of Cultures
Waaaay ahead of his time
This was a good book!
My favorite Twain work so far...
On Modern Library's version of Connecticut Yankee...

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Oxford World's Classics)
Mark Twain
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192839020

Book Description

When A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court was published in 1889, Mark Twain was undergoing a series of personal and professional crises. Thus what began as a literary burlesque of British chivalry and culture grew into a disturbing satire of modern technology and social thought. The story of Hank Morgan, a nineteenth-century American who is accidentally returned to sixth-century England, is a powerful analysis of such issues as monarchy versus democracy and free will versus determinism, but it is also one of Twain's finest comic novels, still fresh and funny after more than 100 years. In his introduction, M. Thomas Inge shows how A Connecticut Yankee develops from comedy to tragedy and so into a novel that remains a major literary and cultural text for new generations of readers. This edition reproduces a number of the original drawings by Dan Beard, of whom Twain said `he not only illustrates the text but he illustrates my thoughts'.

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It was in Warwick Castle that I came across the curious stranger whom I am going to talk about. He attracted me by three things: his candid simplicity, his marvelous familiarity with ancient armor, and the restfulness of his company - for he did all the talking. We fell together, as modest people will, in the tail of the herd that was being shown through, and he at once began to say things which interested me. As he talked along, softly, pleasantly, flowingly, he seemed to drift away imperceptibly out of this world and time, and into some remote era and old forgotten country; and so he gradually wove such a spell about me that I seemed to move among the specters and shadows and dust and mold of a gray antiquity, holding speech with a relic of it! Exactly as I would speak of my nearest personal friends or enemies, or my most familiar neighbors, he spoke of Sir Bedivere, Sir Bors de Ganis, Sir Launcelot of the Lake, Sir Galahad, and all the other great names of the Table Round - and how old, old, unspeakably old and faded and dry and musty and ancient he came to look as he went on! Presently he turned to me and said, just as one might speak of the weather, or any other common matter -

"You know about transmigration of souls; do you know about transposition of epochs - and bodies?"

I said I had not heard of it. He was so little inter ested - just as when people speak of the weather - that he did not notice whether I made him any answer or not. There was half a moment of silence, imme diately interrupted by the droning voice of the salaried cicerone:...

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable Clashing of Cultures.......2007-06-30

Hank Morgan is a typical Connecticut resident living in the late eighteen-hundreds. He is a clever foreman and loves the technology of his time. One day while at work, Hank is hit with a crowbar and knocked out. When he is finally revived, he finds himself in Camelot in the year 528. Things seem pretty bleak for Hank, who is immediately taken prisoner by a knight and sentenced to die. He uses the knowledge that a solar eclipse is due in order to gain a reputation as a powerful magician, more powerful even than Merlin.

Hank quickly adjusts to his position as adviser to King Arthur, and uses his expertise in the areas of science and engineering whenever he sees an opportunity. Soon all of Camelot is connected by telephones and telegraphs, trains are beginning to be built, and knights travel the countryside on bicycles. Hank introduces American systems of money and has plans to turn Camelot into a democracy after Arthur's death.

But Hank has enemies, including Merlin and the church. These enemies are powerful and capitalize on the superstitions of the people living in Camelot.

This was a very clever book, highlighting some of the weaknesses of a Medieval society, and the things a modern capitalist might do to improve them. Parts of it were slow, but it is a very old book, written in a different style than today's stories, so that is understandable.

Waaaay ahead of his time.......2007-04-14

I remember I loved reading Tom Sawyer when I was a kid and I continued reading him in college. So when I started reading this, I had high expectations - not disappointed. This story is waaaaay ahead of its time in terms of morality and the social order. There's also a subdued hilarity that sometimes isn't so subdued as the main character will voice criticism or state his views on a wide variety of subjects. Twain wrote this in 1899 but it sounds like something you would hear from someone a 100 years later. It could just be timeless. Do yourself a favor and read this book because its highly entertaining, very humorous, and definitely an excellent read.

This was a good book!.......2007-03-08

I thought this was agreat book because it has time travel and all the stuff about King Arthur and Merlin. It was kind of cool because he tried to change how it was in midieval times by adding all this electric stuff like phones and lights and other modern stuff from his time, into the past. He tried to change them entirely to a new government and basically a new place. The ending was different from normal books because it didn't end well. It had a twist to the ending.

My favorite Twain work so far..........2006-12-30

Although it seemed a bit strange to me that Mark Twain detoured away from his usual straight works of fiction to something that is obviously based on fantasy, I am from Connecticut, so I embraced this novel with open arms. What surprised me the most was that it was in the junior fiction section of my local library, and the more I read, the more surprised I was. I was an advanced reader when I was young, but I would have been hard pressed to understand or get much out of this book anytime before high school. That said, I was fairly riveted throughout the novel. Hank Morgan's character was amusing, resourceful, and altogether human. After reading so much about the "perfection" of Arthurian and Round Table society, it's nice to hear about what life would have been like even if King Arthur and his Round Table did exist. The ending was distinctly bittersweet, and I can honestly say that this has become one of my favorite classics.

On Modern Library's version of Connecticut Yankee..........2006-12-18

With so many versions of this novel to choose from, it's tough to pick the right one off the shelf. The Modern Library's version is wonderful. I highly receommend it. Well made and bound for easy reading, this novel even feels good in the hand. All the original illustrations are here, with the text wrapped around them marvelously. A true pleasure to read.

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