A tramp abroad

The success of Twain's first collection of travel memoirs, The Innocents Abroad, inspired a return to Europe for another look at some of the countries and landmarks that initially dazzled the author and his companions. In A Tramp Abroad, Twain's abundant humor waxes as freely as ever; this time, however, his amusement bears a more cynical cast, as he regards the grand tourist sights in Innocents through older and more experienced eyes. The seriousness of the author's second impressions provides an interesting subtext to the overall jocularity of his narrative, making this volume a milestone in the Twain oeuvre and a must for his legions of admirers. Appendix.