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The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Short Works
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About the author
Mark Twain
8,872 books18.7k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
December 15, 2024
Неподражаемото чувство за хумор на Марк Твен е заредено и в неговите разкази! Те не достигат нивото на култовите приключения на Том Сойер и Хък Фин, но все пак са много приятни и любопитни... Всички истории в сборника ми допаднаха, но любимата ми е „Банкнотата от един милион лири стерлинги“.
„Имайте предвид обаче, че това не беше слава; засега бях придобил само известност. След това дойде връхната точка — тъй да се каже, официалното ми влизане в лоното на прославените, — която с един замах превърна нетрайния блясък на известността в чистото злато на славата: списанието „Пънч“ помести карикатурата ми! Да, сега вече бях прославен навеки: бях извоювал мястото си. Пак можеха да се шегуват по мой адрес, но с благоговение, не с насмешка, не грубо.“
„Имайте предвид обаче, че това не беше слава; засега бях придобил само известност. След това дойде връхната точка — тъй да се каже, официалното ми влизане в лоното на прославените, — която с един замах превърна нетрайния блясък на известността в чистото злато на славата: списанието „Пънч“ помести карикатурата ми! Да, сега вече бях прославен навеки: бях извоювал мястото си. Пак можеха да се шегуват по мой адрес, но с благоговение, не с насмешка, не грубо.“
Read
January 28, 2024ap lit :(
August 19, 2025
I laughed outright multiple times. A play adaptation would be hilarious.
September 4, 2015
Legendary author Mark Twain presents a collection of essays, stories, and assorted other pieces, ranging from creative fantasies about a conman swindling a town of puritans to recounts of his short-lived adventures at soldiering to his opinion of Christian Scientists. A nice collection of very well told tales from yesteryear.
I have never read Twain before. His style of writing is enthralling and surprisingly entertaining, even if some of the longer rants did begin to drag. Many of the tales, despite the world having moved on, still hold the capacity to captivate. My only real complaint about this book is that I was hoping for more short stories.
The two included here, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and From the London Times of 1904, were supremely well done and I definitely look forward to reading more like them at a later date.
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Hadlyeburg, hailed world-round as the pinnacle of moral decency and incorruptibility, is faced with new danger when a mysterious stranger leaves a sack of gold coins to a townsman that helped him in his hour of need on the prevision of a certain key phrase uttered on that day be recited in public trial. No townsman steps forward, the most likely candidate is a deceased drunkard nobody liked, but when rumours of the secret to obtain the gold start floating through town, the people of incorruptible Hadleyburg are forced to prove just how incorruptible they really are.
This story was amazing. I was riveted from start to finish. Watching the stranger’s machinations as he sets out for revenge against a town that wronged him was a fascinating experience. Worth reading this book for this story alone.
From the London Times of 1904
Amateur inventor Szczepanik has created a device capable of relaying live images and communications anywhere around the globe, the Telelectroscope. At any time a person may activate the machine and see real-time broadcasts from anywhere on the planet. No one sees the potential for such a device, but when the inventor is found murdered the focus of the world is drawn to the man responsible and the trial that awaits.
The Telelctroscope: A fascinating machine that allows instant communication across the globe and access to the entire world at your fingertips. Sounds very useful, if only such a thing were real.
When I heard that Mark Twain had written a science fiction story about the internet in 1897, I knew I had to read it. This is one of those things that sounds made-up until you see it. It boggles the mind that such a concept existed at such an early age. In fact, this story was the entire reason I even picked up this book to begin with. It is everything I’d expected and more, and while the ending was a bit of a downer, it was still an incredibly engaging story.
Aside from the short stories were a handful of interesting tales and essays on a range of subjects. Some which are timeless and some less so. A couple of stories do get a bit sad in the light of hindsight, such as the recount of an Austrian court in 1897 and the political situation of the Jews, each with the assurance that though they have been through rough times smooth sailing is on the horizon. Some things have not aged well, but still they are very well told.
This was an interesting experience. I wasn’t expecting Twain’s style of writing to draw me in like it did. I have to admit I am now a fan. I look forward to reading more of his work (more likely the fiction side) when I get the chance.
Interesting book.
***Reading Challenge 2015: A book by an author you’ve never read before***
I have never read Twain before. His style of writing is enthralling and surprisingly entertaining, even if some of the longer rants did begin to drag. Many of the tales, despite the world having moved on, still hold the capacity to captivate. My only real complaint about this book is that I was hoping for more short stories.
The two included here, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and From the London Times of 1904, were supremely well done and I definitely look forward to reading more like them at a later date.
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Hadlyeburg, hailed world-round as the pinnacle of moral decency and incorruptibility, is faced with new danger when a mysterious stranger leaves a sack of gold coins to a townsman that helped him in his hour of need on the prevision of a certain key phrase uttered on that day be recited in public trial. No townsman steps forward, the most likely candidate is a deceased drunkard nobody liked, but when rumours of the secret to obtain the gold start floating through town, the people of incorruptible Hadleyburg are forced to prove just how incorruptible they really are.
This story was amazing. I was riveted from start to finish. Watching the stranger’s machinations as he sets out for revenge against a town that wronged him was a fascinating experience. Worth reading this book for this story alone.
From the London Times of 1904
Amateur inventor Szczepanik has created a device capable of relaying live images and communications anywhere around the globe, the Telelectroscope. At any time a person may activate the machine and see real-time broadcasts from anywhere on the planet. No one sees the potential for such a device, but when the inventor is found murdered the focus of the world is drawn to the man responsible and the trial that awaits.
The Telelctroscope: A fascinating machine that allows instant communication across the globe and access to the entire world at your fingertips. Sounds very useful, if only such a thing were real.
When I heard that Mark Twain had written a science fiction story about the internet in 1897, I knew I had to read it. This is one of those things that sounds made-up until you see it. It boggles the mind that such a concept existed at such an early age. In fact, this story was the entire reason I even picked up this book to begin with. It is everything I’d expected and more, and while the ending was a bit of a downer, it was still an incredibly engaging story.
Aside from the short stories were a handful of interesting tales and essays on a range of subjects. Some which are timeless and some less so. A couple of stories do get a bit sad in the light of hindsight, such as the recount of an Austrian court in 1897 and the political situation of the Jews, each with the assurance that though they have been through rough times smooth sailing is on the horizon. Some things have not aged well, but still they are very well told.
This was an interesting experience. I wasn’t expecting Twain’s style of writing to draw me in like it did. I have to admit I am now a fan. I look forward to reading more of his work (more likely the fiction side) when I get the chance.
Interesting book.
***Reading Challenge 2015: A book by an author you’ve never read before***
March 28, 2018
This collection of short stories by Mark Twain is hit-and-miss. Some of them, including the prominent one mentioned in the book's title, are intriguing and entertaining. Others, such as “The Austrian Edison Keeping School Again”, seem to have little point and do not go on long enough to establish a sense of direction. These stories were mainly written around the turn of the 20th century, many years after Twain's most celebrated novels appeared.
“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” is the first, and second longest, of the stories contained in the book. It is a mystery from the very beginning, and Twain manages to keep the suspense up until the conclusion of the story. Really, it is an acid commentary on the hypocrisy of people: a town pretending to be virtuous when instead the people are motivated by greed. It reminds me of people who thump the Bible on a regular basis, quick to criticize and condemn the actions or behaviors of others, yet whose own lives would not stand up well to a dose of moral probity. It is also a reminder that, no matter how many technological innovations occur and drastically change our lives, the fundamental flaws of human nature never change.
“The Belated Russian Passport”, the aforementioned Edison story, and “A Petition to the Queen of England” are disjointed and not Twain's best work. The latter two I especially did not care for as I apparently missed the point of both. The Russian passport story is not bad but not memorable either. It has a twist to its ending, but that was not enough to salvage it for me. “A Double-Barreled Detective Story” started out alright, and showed some promise. But then Twain changed course halfway through it, only to return to beginning part of the story at the very end. It is not a bad story, but I just did not find it enthralling.
“Diplomatic Pay and Clothes” makes Twain out to be a crank. It is a long essay complaining about how the United States does not pay its Ambassadors enough to properly do their jobs overseas. “My Debut As A Literary Person” concerns a shipwreck and Twain's taking advantage of being in Hawaii when the survivors arrived. It is an interesting story, and one of the better ones in the book.
“The 1,000,000 Pound Bank-Note” actually was my favorite of the lot. The premise is fanciful but funny, and the circumstances are odd enough that, with how life is sometimes, you could just barely see how something like that would be possible. I think that many people go through life pretending to be things that they are not, and in the process manage to hoodwink others into believing their unlikely situations, so perhaps that is what appealed to me about this story. Twain interjects a substantial dose of humor into this story, while again poking fun at human nature. I wish more of the stories had been of this quality.
Grade: C+
“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” is the first, and second longest, of the stories contained in the book. It is a mystery from the very beginning, and Twain manages to keep the suspense up until the conclusion of the story. Really, it is an acid commentary on the hypocrisy of people: a town pretending to be virtuous when instead the people are motivated by greed. It reminds me of people who thump the Bible on a regular basis, quick to criticize and condemn the actions or behaviors of others, yet whose own lives would not stand up well to a dose of moral probity. It is also a reminder that, no matter how many technological innovations occur and drastically change our lives, the fundamental flaws of human nature never change.
“The Belated Russian Passport”, the aforementioned Edison story, and “A Petition to the Queen of England” are disjointed and not Twain's best work. The latter two I especially did not care for as I apparently missed the point of both. The Russian passport story is not bad but not memorable either. It has a twist to its ending, but that was not enough to salvage it for me. “A Double-Barreled Detective Story” started out alright, and showed some promise. But then Twain changed course halfway through it, only to return to beginning part of the story at the very end. It is not a bad story, but I just did not find it enthralling.
“Diplomatic Pay and Clothes” makes Twain out to be a crank. It is a long essay complaining about how the United States does not pay its Ambassadors enough to properly do their jobs overseas. “My Debut As A Literary Person” concerns a shipwreck and Twain's taking advantage of being in Hawaii when the survivors arrived. It is an interesting story, and one of the better ones in the book.
“The 1,000,000 Pound Bank-Note” actually was my favorite of the lot. The premise is fanciful but funny, and the circumstances are odd enough that, with how life is sometimes, you could just barely see how something like that would be possible. I think that many people go through life pretending to be things that they are not, and in the process manage to hoodwink others into believing their unlikely situations, so perhaps that is what appealed to me about this story. Twain interjects a substantial dose of humor into this story, while again poking fun at human nature. I wish more of the stories had been of this quality.
Grade: C+
April 26, 2012
Temptation is a hard taskmaster! Today I read The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Short Stories by Mark Twain. This is one of his lesser known works but is still full of Twain magic. The small town of Hadleyburg is locally well known for the unflinching honesty of its citizens. A stranger that passes through perceives an injustice done to him and vows retribution. He tempts the citizens and they can’t resist it. It is a tale in the Twain tradition and well worth the time to read. Some of Mark Twain’s lesser known works deserve much more recognition than time has afforded them; this is one of them!
May 10, 2019
A classic written by Twain. A short fiction story that was enjoyable and filled with humor. Poor Hadleyburg went from being a quiet little town to being corrupted due to a stranger passing by who was offended and plotted revenge against the people of the town. At the end, he did just that. This is a story that can be enjoyed and entertained by all ages.
January 6, 2010
This collection of short stories shows a different side of Mark Twain. Works such as these from later in his life have a cynicism that is not so prevalent in his earlier writing. Still, Twain's typical wit and twists of plot kept me laughing throughout.
July 8, 2012
some classically typical Twain short stories here that have stuck with me and some that don't have much relevance today. On the balance, most stories are good, but not 'must-read.' Not a bad use of time, reading this - but easily skipped.
November 6, 2024
A grab-bag of miscellaneous Twainings, not all of them "stories" as advertsied. There's a lot of filler here, like the unfunny essay on the pay of American diplomats, and the title story is a somewhat laboured morality tale that promises much but wears out its welcome. But there are also two absolute classics: My Debut as a Literary Person and A Double-Barrelled Detective Story. The first of these recounts Twain's writing of 43 Days in an Open Boat, his second-hand reporting of the incredible survival of 15 men from the Hornet following its burning in the Pacific. It's really just Twain's original newspaper story bolstered by excerpts from the logs of the captain and two passengers, but what a story! A Double-Barrelled Detective Story, meanwhile, is simply a side-splitting send-up of Sherlock Holmes (featuring the Great Detective himself, far from home in a tiny Montana mining town, and his nephew, Fetlock Jones), with a frame story about a boy with the nose of a bloodhound. Twain's parody of purple prose cracked me up when I read it while waiting for a bus:
It was a crisp and spicy morning in early October. The lilacs and laburnums, lit with the glory-fires of autumn, hung burning and flashing in the upper air, a fairy bridge provided by kind nature for the wingless wild things that have their home in the tree-tops and would visit together; the larch and the pomegranate flung their purple and yellow flames in brilliant broad splashes along the slanting sweep of woodland, the sensuous fragrance of innumerable deciduous flowers rose upon the swooning atmosphere, far in the empty sky a solitary oesophagus slept upon motionless wing; everywhere brooded stillness, serenity, and the peace of God.
It seems there are several different collections published under this title so your mileage may, as they say, vary.
It was a crisp and spicy morning in early October. The lilacs and laburnums, lit with the glory-fires of autumn, hung burning and flashing in the upper air, a fairy bridge provided by kind nature for the wingless wild things that have their home in the tree-tops and would visit together; the larch and the pomegranate flung their purple and yellow flames in brilliant broad splashes along the slanting sweep of woodland, the sensuous fragrance of innumerable deciduous flowers rose upon the swooning atmosphere, far in the empty sky a solitary oesophagus slept upon motionless wing; everywhere brooded stillness, serenity, and the peace of God.
It seems there are several different collections published under this title so your mileage may, as they say, vary.
May 31, 2024
Super fascinating book. Mark Twain makes very believable characters.
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June 12, 2024I just read the man who corrupted hadlyburg. It was fun
July 26, 2025
Amusing in Twain's hallmark way. He can do irony like nobody else can. This was a fun, fast, light-hearted, amusing collection, which was much needed after slogging through Thomas Mann.
October 18, 2020
Letto incuriosita dalla trama della prima storia.
In realtà si tratta di una raccolta di materiali diversi fra cui brevi saggi e anche un'opera teatrale.
Non sempre appassionante ma capace di riservare sorprese.
Non particolarmente complessa la lettura in inglese.
Conclusa la lettura si ha voglia di continuare a viaggiare con Mark Twain con Europe and Elsewhere, Vol. 29.
Read intrigued by the title story.
This is a collection of different materials like short essays and even a play.
It's not always interesting but it contains some gems.
The reading in English isn't difficult.
When the book is over you want to keep travelling with Mark Twain with Europe and Elsewhere, Vol. 29.
In realtà si tratta di una raccolta di materiali diversi fra cui brevi saggi e anche un'opera teatrale.
Non sempre appassionante ma capace di riservare sorprese.
Non particolarmente complessa la lettura in inglese.
Conclusa la lettura si ha voglia di continuare a viaggiare con Mark Twain con Europe and Elsewhere, Vol. 29.
Read intrigued by the title story.
This is a collection of different materials like short essays and even a play.
It's not always interesting but it contains some gems.
The reading in English isn't difficult.
When the book is over you want to keep travelling with Mark Twain with Europe and Elsewhere, Vol. 29.
February 26, 2010
I only read the one story, "The Man who Corrupted Hadleyburg", but it was simply amazing. I don't know how the other stories fare, but it is Mark Twain. The funny thing is that I didn't really have that much of an opinion for Mr. Twain. I know he has written many classics, but they never really sparked my interest. Of course I did read them in high school and from what I know now, books like "Huck Finn" are actually a lot more complex than just a simple story of a young southern boy and runaway slave. But that's another book, another discussion...
"The Man who..." is great satire and a very quick read. I think it's like 30 pages all together. It has a very suprising ending and another few twists and turns throughout the whole piece as well.
"The Man who..." is great satire and a very quick read. I think it's like 30 pages all together. It has a very suprising ending and another few twists and turns throughout the whole piece as well.
December 30, 2011
should really be "the stolen white elephant" and other stories. classic twain - filled with several laugh-out-loud moments and several beating-a-dead-horse moments. i feel that each of these stories, individually, are silly and good fun, but in a collection, read one after the other, come across as a little more tragic. the satire on display here gives a kind of window into the hopelessness that twain must have felt towards the rich and the powerful. not that hopelessness isn't the right feeling to have, but story after story of biting sarcasm make me feel less entertained by his wit, and more saddened by his pessimism.
March 21, 2013
Sanctimonious illusions of honesty and virtue collide with opportunity and temptation in a small town renown for its aggregate virtue ... with a predictable outcome. A stranger wronged by a townsperson goes to great lengths to test the reputation, by offering a financial reward for the supposedly kind Hadleyburgian who provided the stranger with $20 at his time of need. Through a ridiculously intricate set of circumstances designed to trip up town leaders who were the main claimants for the reward, the stranger made his point.
Humorous in its simplicity, humorous in its portrayal of self satisfied townspeople...
Humorous in its simplicity, humorous in its portrayal of self satisfied townspeople...
August 19, 2014
Twain's satire is a pleasure to read. I do believe, however, that his forte is the metacognitive commentary on language. That really gets me laughing, anyway.
My favourite pieces are probably: "The Esquimaux Maiden's Romance," "[My Retranslation]" of The Jumping Frog story from the French, and "Meisterschaft."
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Some memorable quotes:
"I do not like an injurious lie, except when it injures somebody else."
"That sentence is Germanic, and shows that I am acquiring that sort of mastery of the art and spirit of language which enables a man to travel all day in one sentence without changing cars."
My favourite pieces are probably: "The Esquimaux Maiden's Romance," "[My Retranslation]" of The Jumping Frog story from the French, and "Meisterschaft."
-----
Some memorable quotes:
"I do not like an injurious lie, except when it injures somebody else."
"That sentence is Germanic, and shows that I am acquiring that sort of mastery of the art and spirit of language which enables a man to travel all day in one sentence without changing cars."
June 8, 2020
Mark Twain is one of our greatest literary writers. He understands the human soul and reveals our foibles with good natured cynicism. The first story in this collection is best known and brilliant. Those that follow are mixed in my opinion. For instance, Twain goes on far too long in his satire on Christian Scientists and parliamentary filibustering in Austria. However, his comparative essay on "The Jumping Frog of Calavaras County" from supposedly Greek origins and French translation is hysterical as is his narrative on his early months as part of an unwilling group of Confederate "soldiers" from Missouri.
July 21, 2017
El cuento que le da el nombre a la recopilación es muy bueno. Otro, que es una parodia a las fábulas, y el cuento del billete de un millón de libras (que es como El socio de Jenaro Prieto, pero con final feliz) son buenos igual. El resto del libro parece relleno para que el libro tenga una cantidad decente de páginas solamente.
Me gusta la forma en que escribe Twain, es divertido y te engancha fácil en las historias. Quedé con ganas de leer obras mayores de el, y no quedarme con este recopilado de cuentos menores.
Me gusta la forma en que escribe Twain, es divertido y te engancha fácil en las historias. Quedé con ganas de leer obras mayores de el, y no quedarme con este recopilado de cuentos menores.
March 10, 2012
The plot is so convoluted that I lost interest in following it. I thought I reached the end of the story, and it might as well have ended at Part 3 but another Part follows with more twists and turns. This isn’t Mark Twain of "Huckleberry Finn" or "Life on the Mississippi".
There are several versions of this collection and considerable differences between the stories and non-fiction articles contained between them.
There are several versions of this collection and considerable differences between the stories and non-fiction articles contained between them.
Read
November 5, 2015An absolutely searing unmasking of fallen human nature, and empirical proof, if any was needed, of the doctrine of original sin. In this case, pride and greed. What is so extraordinary is the way the central characters are drawn and portrayed so skilfully, yet so briefly and simply. The more righteous they strive to be, the more their human nature brings them low. This short story is justifiably cited as a masterpiece.
April 25, 2015
These short stories provide an insight into Mark Twain's world. Twain practically invented self-deprecating humor, and he used it effectively in practically every one of the stories here. True, these are 19th Century stories, but they haven't lost their freshness in the hundred-and-some years since Twain wrote them.
August 5, 2016
Mark Twain's stories in this book are interesting and clever, but for some reason it still took me quite a while to get around to finishing the book. Other books, it seems, were more interesting, so this one kept getting pre-empted.
June 30, 2011
I had trouble following some of the political pieces in this book as I'm not up with the "current events" of the 1870s-1890s. I was really amazed at how well the fiction stories held up, though. They could have been written yesterday, they were that true to contemporary culture.
January 26, 2012
This was an interesting and entertaining illustration of human nature striving towards its best and sometimes giving into weaknesses previously unsuspected. Clever and entertaining as Twain always is.
February 24, 2013
Some of it's great, some of it feels a little dated, I skipped through CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND THE BOOK OF MRS. EDDY and "Stirring Times in Austria"- they were quite dull, but I really like "Is he living or is he dead?" and several other stories.
Not much of a red thread in this collection.
Not much of a red thread in this collection.
March 26, 2009
Many of these stories are great, and many are so-so, but on the whole, I enjoyed reading them, particularly My First Lie, The Appetite Cure, and Luck.
August 25, 2011
Actually just read the one story. I liked it. Very interesting idea to base a story on (corrupting the supposedly "incorruptible")
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews