DECEMBER 10, 1884
Often
described as a literary icon by his peers, Mark Twain is considered to be one of the greatest American writers of all time.
Within the pages of his 28 published books, numerous short stories, letters and sketches, Twain explored the American psyche, as well as the themes of freedom, racism and hypocrisy that he saw in the world around him.
Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, he followed various career paths before settling on writing, including working as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River.
His experience winding down these lazy waters and his small hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, are thought to have provided the inspiration for perhaps his best-known novel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn.
Published for the first time in the UK and Canada on December 10, 1884, the story has come to be known as the “Great American Novel”, and its popularity and appeal has endured throughout the last century.
Spanning 366 pages, the seminal work tells the tale of narrator Huckleberry “Huck” Finn and runaway slave, Jim, as they take a long and disrupted trip down the Mississippi River on a wooden raft.
Despite being initially