Tom Sawyer Detective

By Mark Twain

Tom Sawyer Detective is a novel by Mark Twain. It is a sequel to Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and a prequel to Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894). Tom Sawyer attempts to solve a mysterious murder in this burlesque of the immensely popular detective novels of the time. Like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the story is told using the first-person narrative voice of Huck Finn. In 1909, Danish schoolmaster Valdemar Thoresen claimed, in an article in the magazine Maaneds, that the plot of the book had been plagiarized from Steen Blicher's story The Vicar of Weilby. Blicher's work had been translated into German, but not into English, and Twain's secretary wrote Mr. Thoresen a letter, stating, "Mr. Clemens is not familiar with Danish and does not read German fluently, and has not read the book you mention, nor any translation or adaptation of it that he is aware of. The matter constituting 'Tom Sawyer, Detective,' is original with Mr. Clemens, who has never been consciously a plagiarist." In fact, if the story were taken from any tale, it would actually be from a real one—in an introductory passage, Twain notes "Strange as the incidents of this story are, they are not inventions, but facts—even to the public confession of the accused. I take them from an old-time Swedish criminal trial, change the actors, and transfer the scenes to America. I have added some details, but only a couple of them are important ones."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sheba Blake Publishing
• Release date: Jun 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9783962170394

Mark Twain

Mark Twain, who was born Samuel L. Clemens in Missouri in 1835, wrote some of the most enduring works of literature in the English language, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was his last completed book—and, by his own estimate, his best. Its acquisition by Harper & Brothers allowed Twain to stave off bankruptcy. He died in 1910. 

Book preview

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Reviews for Tom Sawyer Detective

[sirfurboy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a short book. Like Tom Sawyer Abroad, I felt it messed a little with the established canon of the Adventures of Toim Sawyer and Huck Finn. It was clearly a case of Mark Twain poking fun at a genre of detective story using his favourite characters.This story was not as unbelievable as Tom Sawyer abroad, but still not a book I would read again and again like I did with Huckleberry Finn.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Told from the point of view of Huckleberry Finn, this short story takes the pair back to Uncle Silas' home to save him from shame and ruin. Huck thinks Tom is the smartest person he knows (including all the adults he knows) and accordingly Tom figures everything out and "reveals" all in the most smarty-pants way possible. Entertaining but that's it.

[tsisler_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I would have liked to rate this book a 2.75. I listened to the audio version of this book, edited by Shannon Chappele and read by Bruce Johnson. The recording felt like a low-budget production. Johnson's voice didn't fit the adolescent voice of Finn who narrates the story. The voices of the other characters were also performed inconsistently. I found some elements of the robbery and murder enticing, but overall the recording was unenjoyable. I may have rated this book higher had I actually read it instead of listened to it.

[andyray_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

this little wisp of a book is an add-on from MT letting us share a shabby "adventure" of Tom and Huck. Of course, it's told from Huck's viewpoint, probably because Samuel Clemens liked to think he was basically a dumb country boy who liked his vices more than the intelligent wiley tom. put them together, and you probably have the essence of Clemens' personality. Too short. Too slight.

[robert.zimmermann · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't care for this book as much as I did for the other Tom Sawyer books. I just don't think the story was necessary in the chronicles of Tom and Huck's life in the sense that it wasn't much of an adventure as the rest, it was just a crime story. It was good though, just didn't match up to the enjoyment given by the previous two stories.

[capiam1234 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as bad as Tom Sawyer Abroad, but no where near as great as the 1st two. It felt rushed and not thought out well. I did enjoy Tom's discovery of the murderers at the end though.

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was the end of the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn series. I felt that it was lessened in effect- although the stakes were still high, and that the story was decent but not in tone to the other novels in the series. Nevertheless, it was interesting reading.3 stars.