Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg And Other Stories

‘The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg’ gives its title to this collection of short stories by Mark Twain. We find here the old Mark, with a difference. The years that bring the philosophic mind have made of the inimitable humorist a writer of stories with a purpose. But the author's purpose is not permitted to thwart the reader's, which is to get at least one good laugh out of everything that Mark Twain signs. As the present tales and sketches reprinted from Harper's, The Century, The Cosmopolitan, etc., contain more than one laugh each, the reader should not be disappointed who finds them provocative of thought as well as of mirth.

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One of Twain's most celebrated novellas, 'The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg' is a satirical retelling of the Garden of Eden story in the Bible, in which the author, mocking the supposed honesty and incorruptibility of the inhabitants of an imaginary American town, shows how man is fundamentally bad and cannot resist the temptations of gold. This collection also includes another acclaimed novella, 'A Double-Barrelled Detective Story', a spoof of the mystery genre featuring Sherlock Holmes in the American West, as well as lesser-known narratives such as 'The Belated Russian Passport' and 'The Death Disk'. Together, these tales are a testament to Twain's inexhaustible gift for invention and his skills as a storyteller.

It was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder of it than of any other of its possessions.

Excerpt from The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg: And Other Stories and Sketches IT was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder Of it than Of any other of its possessions. It was SO proud Of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetua tion, that it began to teach the principles Of honest dealing to its babies in the cradle, and made the like teachings the staple Of their culture thenceforward through all the years devoted to their education. Also, throughout the formative years temptations were kept out Of the way Of the young people, so that their honesty could have every chance to harden and solidify, and become a part Of their very bone. The neighbouring towns were jealous of this honourable supremacy, and affected to sneer at Hadleyburg's pride in it and call it vanity; but all the same they were obliged to acknowledge that Hadleyburg was in reality an incorruptible town and if pressed they would also acknowledge that the mere fact that a young man hailed from Hadleyburg was all the recommendation he needed when he went forth from his natal town to seek for responsible employment. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.