Monday, April 06, 2015

Teaser Tuesday 256: The Prince and the Pauper

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week's teaser comes from a classic, The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, which I recently finished for a Goodreads group read.


At night Tom reached home so wet and tired and hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmother to observe his forlorn condition and not be moved—after their fashion; wherefore they gave him a cuffing at once and sent him to bed. For a long time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting going on in the building, kept him awake; but at last his thoughts drifted away so far, romantic lands, and he fell asleep in the company of jeweled and gilded princelings who lived in vast palaces, and had servants salaaming before them or flying to execute their orders. And then, as usual, he dreamed that he was a princeling himself.

(Chapter two)



ABOUT THE BOOK:

Tom Canty and Edward Tudor could have been identical twins. Their birthdays match, their faces match, but there the likeness stops. For Edward is a prince, heir to King Henry VIII, whilst Tom is a miserable pauper. But when fate intervenes, Edward is thrown out of the palace in rags, leaving ignorant Tom to play the part of a royal prince. Even those who have never read the novel will be familiar with Twain's classic tale of mistaken identity: at once an adventure story and a fantasy of timeless appeal.



6 comments:

Beth @ PlantPostings said...

Love that story! Great idea for a meme: I'll have to check it out. (After the game tonight. Go Bucky!)

Unknown said...

I can't believe I've never read it!

My teaser this week from an upcoming young adult book: http://pdworkman.com/pre-release-excerpt-from-june-and-justin/

Heather said...

Beth: I've been participating in this meme a couple years now. As for Bucky... So close! :(

Heather said...

PD: I think a lot of people are familiar with the story but have never read it. Perhaps due to the Disney take on it featuring Mickey Mouse.

Alice Audrey said...

This is one of my favorites, though frankly I like the movie versions better.

Heather said...

Alice: The only movie version I remember seeing is the Disney version with Mickey Mouse. ☺