Description
The novel is written as a satire of the Arthurian legend. It follows the journey of a man who is transported to the medieval era and becomes a courtier to King Arthur. The man, called "A Connecticut Yankee" because he is from the future, is a sharp critic of the Arthurian society he is a part of and finds many of its customs absurd. Despite this, he eventually falls in love with a woman in the court and is forced to leave when the king decides he is no longer needed. The novel has been praised for its wit and humor, as well as its insight into medieval society.
When A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court was published in 1889, Mark Twain was undergoing a series of personal and professional crises. In his Introduction, M. Thomas Inge shows how what began as a literary burlesque of British chivalry and culture developed to tragedy and into a novel that remains a major literary and cultural text for generations of new 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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