3 Review(s)

"What is the fate of two unknowingly identical boys who exchange their lives? The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain is a historical satire set in two very different socio-economic worlds of sixteenth-century England. The story of the novel centres around the lives of two boys born in London on the same day. Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father, and Edward VI of England, son of Henry VIII of England. The two encounter each other and swap their lives, and thus destiny, realising they look identical. This situation alters the life of the two youngsters drastically, leaving them with personal revelations. The novel is a critique of social inequality and criticism that appearances are deceptive. The foremost idea of their exchange of roles and lifestyles is a commentary on class barriers and Twain's satiric expose of the concept, “clothes make the man”. The Prince and the Pauper has more than ninety-five popular-culture adaptations relevant to date."