I'll admit, one of the first things I loved about this book was that my copy had illustrations by Peter Spier. His pen and line drawings are among my favorite types of art, because they are so beautiful in their simplicity. If you can find a copy with Spier's illustrations, I highly recommend it.
The second thing I loved about this book was the vocabulary. The antiquated dialog did not sound forced or awkward, and the story was rich in descriptive vocabulary, fun similes, and Twain's trademark ironic humor, which, if sometimes went over the heads of my students, at least amused me.
Here is one that we recently used for copywork:
Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed, cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and murderers in a jail another, and called idiot and imposter by all impartially, the mock King Tom Canty enjoyed a quite different experience.
Finally, I loved how clear it was that Twain had obviously done his research in writing this novel (he was a journalist first, you know). Through the nature of the plot the reader is treated to a clear picture of both the splendors of Henry VIII's court as well as the plight of the poor and downtrodden. If the the occasional footnote weren't enough, the unparalleled description of the nuances of daily life in 16th century would have given it away. And yet, in all the information, the story never felt bogged down or slow. Reporter, yes; and master storyteller.
Truly I think this a gem of a book, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Have you read it? What did you think? If you haven't, do you think you might now?
