The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The clearest entry to Twain's fiction and the beginning of the Tom Sawyer cycle.
Author guide
Mark Twain Books in Order
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, began as a printer and journalist before becoming one of the most influential American writers of the nineteenth century. His fiction, travel books, sketches, essays, speeches, plays, and autobiographical writings combine vernacular humor with social criticism, especially concerning slavery, imperialism, religion, race, politics, and human nature. His major works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Roughing It, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and The Innocents Abroad.
humorsatireadventure fictionhistorical fictiontravel writingessaymemoirautobiographysocial criticismliterary criticismplayshort fictionchildren's literature
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress
A representative, accessible introduction to Twain's travel satire and comic nonfiction.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
His central mature novel and a natural follow-up to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Read in order
Books by series
novel-cycle · complete
Tom Sawyer Cycle
A connected sequence of novels and adventure narratives centered on Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and their world along the Mississippi.
- 1 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Book 1 · novel · 1876
The book that introduced the world to the iconic American characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, this 1876 novel by Mark Twain follows the mischievous exploits of the two young boys, who find themselves in situations both humorous…
- 2 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Book 2 · novel · 1884
- 3 Tom Sawyer Abroad
Book 3 · novel · 1894
Tom's plan to become famous involves Huck Finn and his friend Jim in a crusade to the Holy Land by balloon ascension.
- 4 Tom Sawyer, Detective
Book 4 · novella · 1896
Tom Sawyer, Detective follows Twain's popular novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer Abroad. In this novel, Tom turns detective, trying to solve a murder. Twain plays with and celebrates the…
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (11)
- The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
novel · 1873
A biting satire and a revealing portrait of post-Civil War America in which Twain and his neighbor attack the greed, lust, and naivete of their time.
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
novel · 1889
A blow on the head transports a Yankee to 528 A.D. where he proceeds to modernize King Arthur's kingdom by organizing a school system, constructing telephone lines, and inventing the printing press.
- The American Claimant
novel · 1892
- The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins
novel · 1894
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as…
- Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
historical-novel · 1896
- A Double-Barrelled Detective Story
novella · 1902
- Christian Science with Notes Containing Corrections to Date
nonfiction · 1907
From the book:This last summer, when I was on my way back to Vienna from the Appetite-Cure in the mountains, I fell over a cliff in the twilight, and broke some arms and legs and one thing or another, and by good luck was found by some…
- A Horse's Tale
novel · 1907
In Mark Twain's comical satire of the art of telling tall tales in America "A Horse's Tail", there was "night so dark the cats ran against each other he wrote of "a horse so fast the wagon started thirty yards ahead of the cloudburst and…
- The Mysterious Stranger: A Romance
novel · 1916
- A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage
novella · 2001
Nonfiction (8)
- The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress
travel · 1869
- Roughing It
travel-memoir · 1872
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known as "Mark Twain," left Missouri in 1861 to work with his brother, the newly appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory. Once settled in Nevada, Clemens fell victim to gold fever and went…
- A Tramp Abroad
travel · 1880
A Tramp Abroad is a work of travel literature, including a mixture of autobiography and fictional events, by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character…
- Life on the Mississippi
travel-memoir · 1883
At once a romantic history of a mighty river, an autobiographical account of Twains early steamboat days, and a storehouse of humorous anecdotes and sketches, here is the raw material from which Mark Twain wrote his finest novel,…
- Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World
travel · 1897
- What Is Man?
philosophical-dialogue · 1906
- Is Shakespeare Dead?
literary-criticism · 1909
- Mark Twain's Autobiography
autobiography · 1924
Short fiction (10)
- The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches
short-story-collection · 1867
The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County -- Aurellia's unfortunate young man -- A complaint about correspondents, dated in San Francisco -- Answers to correspondents -- Among the Fenlans -- The story of the bad little boy who…
- Mark Twain's (Burlesque) Autobiography and First Romance
short-story-collection · 1871
- A True Story, and the Recent Carnival of Crime
short-story-collection · 1877
- The Stolen White Elephant, Etc.
short-story-collection · 1882
- Merry Tales
short-story-collection · 1892
Contains: The private history of a campaign that failed. The invalid's story. Luck. The captain's story. A curious experience. Mrs. McWilliams and the lightning. Meisterschaft.
- The £1,000,000 Bank-Note and Other New Stories
short-story-collection · 1893
- The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Essays
short-story-collection · 1900
Many years ago Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. And was very proud of it.
- My Début as a Literary Person with Other Essays and Stories
essay-and-story-collection · 1903
- The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories
short-story-collection · 1906
Contains 37 stories: The 30,000 dollars bequest -- A dog's tale -- Was it heaven? or hell? -- The Californian's tale -- A helpless situation -- A telephonic conversation -- Edward Mills and George Benton: a tale -- Saint Joan of Arc --…
- Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven
short-fiction · 1909
Essays and speeches (10)
- Letter from Honolulu: Burning of the Clipper Ship Hornet at Sea
pamphlet · 1866
- Mark Twain's Speech on Accident Insurance
pamphlet · 1874
- How to Tell a Story and Other Essays
essay-collection · 1897
In How to Tell a Story and Other Essays, iconic American author Mark Twain discusses his own experience as a writer and his personal style.
- To the Person Sitting in Darkness
pamphlet · 1901
- King Leopold's Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule
pamphlet · 1905
This volume offers Twain's 1905 political satire.
- Mark Twain's Speeches
speech-collection · 1910
- In Defense of Harriet Shelley and Other Essays
essay-collection · 1910
- What Is Man? and Other Essays
essay-collection · 1917
- Europe and Elsewhere
essay-collection · 1923
- Letters from the Earth
essay-and-letter-collection · 1962
Letters from the Earth is one of Mark Twain's posthumously published works. Initially, his daughter objected to its publication, probably because of its controversial and iconoclastic views on religion. The book consists of a series of…
Poetry (1)
- Be Good, Be Good
poem · 1931
Plays (2)
- Is He Dead? A Comedy in Three Acts
play · 2003
- Ah Sin
play · 1961
Posthumous collections (5)
- Which Was the Dream? and Other Symbolic Writings of the Later Years
posthumous-manuscript-collection · 1966
- Mark Twain's Hannibal, Huck & Tom
posthumous-manuscript-collection · 1969
- Mark Twain's Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts
posthumous-manuscript-collection · 1969
- Mark Twain's Fables of Man
posthumous-manuscript-collection · 1972
- Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer among the Indians, and Other Unfinished Stories
posthumous-manuscript-collection · 1989
Other (11)
- Some Learned Fables for Good Old Boys and Girls
fable-collection · 1875
- Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old
sketch-collection · 1875
- Information Wanted and Other Sketches
sketch-collection · 1876
- Punch, Brothers, Punch! and Other Sketches
sketch-collection · 1878
- [Date 1601.] Conversation, as It Was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors
satirical-dialogue · 1880
- English as She Is Taught
humor-and-language · 1887
- A Dog's Tale
illustrated-story · 1903
My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian. This is what my mother told me, I do not know these nice distinctions myself. To me they are only fine large words meaning nothing. My mother had a fondness for…
- Extracts from Adam's Diary
illustrated-story · 1904
- The Curious Republic of Gondour and Other Whimsical Sketches
sketch-collection · 1919
Frequently asked questions about Mark Twain
What was Mark Twain's real name?
Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, an American author, humorist, satirist, journalist, and lecturer.
When and where was Mark Twain born, and when did he die?
He was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, and died on April 21, 1910.
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)guides.loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
How did Mark Twain begin his writing career?
He started in printing and journalism, later piloted Mississippi River steamboats, and gained wider attention as a newspaper writer in the American West. He adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain while writing for Virginia City's Territorial Enterprise in 1862.
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Mark Twain's writing?
His childhood in Hannibal, life on the Mississippi, and newspaper work shaped his use of American vernacular, personal experience, humor, and satire.
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)academic.oup.com (opens in a new tab)
Did Mark Twain receive any major honors?
Yes. The University of Missouri awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 1902 and lists Samuel L. Clemens, or Mark Twain, among its honorary-doctorate recipients.
Sources: muarchives.missouri.edu (opens in a new tab)commencement.missouri.edu (opens in a new tab)