Tom Sawyer

Published in 1876, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is Mark Twain’s classic novel about boyhood in the 1840s. Set in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri—based on Twain’s own childhood home of Hannibal—it follows the mischievous exploits of an orphan named Tom Sawyer.
om’s journey from a self-centered prankster to a boy who puts others first (testifying for Muff Potter, protecting Becky in the cave) represents his “coming of age”.

Mark Twain (1835–1910), the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is celebrated in 2026 as the “father of American literature.” He was a novelist, humorist, and social critic who revolutionized the English language by using distinct American vernacular and dialects.
He was the first major author to write in the authentic voice of common Americans, breaking away from formal European literary traditions.
He used wit to attack the hypocrisy of the “Gilded Age” (a term he coined), imperialism, and the institution of slavery.