American drolleries: selected stories

The father of American literature William Faulkner Twain is still the liveliest, sharpest most humane observational satirist and wit A A Gill Beguiling, brusquely fantastic yarns John Updike The greatest humorist of his age New York Times In these extraordinary stories Mark Twain takes us from the sleepy banks of the Mississippi, through frontier towns, and across the deserted gold plains of California.

We encounter his countryfolk in all their bizarre variety: a cannibalistic ex-senator, a compulsive gambler, phoney travelling salesmen, and a team of bumbling detectives.

The breadth, skill, and comic ingenuity of these tales reminds us why Mark Twain is truly the father of American literature.