The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
“The Prince and the Pauper is the fascinating story of how the crown prince of the British throne traded places with a pauper boy, and what came of it.
The novel is set in London in 1547, shortly before the death of King Henry VIII and the coronation of his son, Prince Edward of Wales.
The main characters are
Tom Kentie is a beggarly boy, kind, open, and honest.
Tom’s father is a thief, a drunkard and debauchee, a cruel, ignorant man.
King Henry VIII is an overbearing, cruel king, but a loving and caring father.
Prince Edward of Wales – a kind, fair, noble boy.
Miles Gendon – impoverished nobleman, Prince Edward’s only friend and protector.
Lord St. John is the courtier who helped Tom “remember” all the rules of palace etiquette.
The plot of .
In the middle of the 16th century, two boys were born on the same day in London: one of them was destined to lead the British throne, while the other was destined to an unenviable lot of pauper. Tom Kentie’s life was from the outset full of hardship and adversity. The son of a thief and a beggar, he lived with his parents, his mad old grandmother, and his two twin sisters in a gloomy den, where he slept on the floor on straw. Tom’s surroundings in the Yard of Waste were vagrants, thieves, and beggars. The boy’s only outlet was the companionship of an old priest who taught him to read and write and told him fascinating stories about kings and wizards.
One day, hungry and badly beaten by his father, he went to the royal palace to see the brilliant young Prince of Wales. Tom was rudely pushed away by a sentry, but the prince interceded for the boy and invited him to his chambers. Enthusiastic about the little beggar’s free life, Prince Edward invited Tom to exchange clothes with him. Forgetting that he was dressed in rags, he decided to punish the sentry, but ended up banished from his own palace. Edward had a difficult time in his new surroundings: he was constantly bullied by boys from the Scum Court, starved, and bullied by dogs.
Tom, too, had a hard time at first in his new role. His behavior was so strange that the royal family and courtiers thought the child had been struck by insanity. However, no one even suspected a switch. Gradually Tom settled in the palace and thanks to the participation of Lord St. John has mastered the noble manners and etiquette.
Nor did anyone in the Kentys believe that it was not Tom but the prince. Edward was so fed up with the perpetually drunken Kentie Senior that he ran away. The boy was saved from the attacks of tramps and beggars by the noble but impoverished warrior Miles Gendon, who became a true friend to him.
Meanwhile, news hit the country: the king is dead, and the crown prince must ascend the throne. After going through many trials, Edward managed to get into the palace. It happened just at the solemn moment of Tom’s coronation. Edward succeeded in proving his royal origins by reminding himself of the location of the missing state seal. Justice prevailed and Prince Edward was crowned. Lord St. John and Miles Gendon were generously rewarded for their kind participation in the lives of both boys. King Edward VI, remembering his ordeal in the slums, proved to be an uncommonly gracious ruler. Tom Canty lived a long life, enjoying special honor and respect.
