The Humorous Short Stories of Mark Twain

by Mark Twain, Bobbie Frohman (Narrator)

This delightful collection of gems by Mark Twain begins with the story of a town called Hadleyburg, which prides itself on the honesty of its citizens. One day a citizen of Hadleyburg offends a stranger passing through, who vows to take his revenge by revealing just how corruptible the sanctimonious town really is. Twain is at his best here, poking fun at common hypocrisy as the self-satisfied pillars of the community are done in by their own greed.

Other stories in the collection include:

1. The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg

2. The Double Barrelled Detective Story

3. The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

4. The Million Dollar Bank Note

5. Benton and Mills

6. A Tale

7. Cannibalism in the Cars

8. The Stolen White Elephant

9. The Man Who Put Up at Gadsby's

10. The Good Little Boy

11. The Bad Little Boy

12. Baker's Blue Jay Yarn

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was born Samuel L. Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. One of the most popular and influential authors our nation has ever produced, his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. He has been called not only the greatest humorist of his age but the father of American literature.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Classics, Short Stories, Anthologies, Audiobook, Historical Fiction

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Judy]

I'm reading this right now. For most of the stories so far I have felt this little tickle in my throat where I have wanted to laugh out loud but I am not sure if it's appropriate. Looking forward to the rest of them.

[Jack]

Not humorous

[Chad]

The more I read from this book the more I thought to myself how much I would have enjoyed meeting Mark Twain, (Samuel Clemens.) On many occasions I caught myself laughing aloud while reading.
This is a complete collection of all the little short stories and sketches that Twain wrote from 1863 - 1904. That is close to forthy years of literary gemstones. Some of my personal favorites are The Danger of Lying in Bed, The Awful German Language, and The Great French Duel.
If you find a copy of this book buy it you will not be unpleased.

[Sten Lundgren]

I was going to say that this book hasn't aged well, but then I noticed it was published in 2012, so instead I'll say it wasn't born well

[David Allen]

What constitutes a humorous tale or sketch? The jumping frog, of course. But in Neider's view, also assorted newspaper scribblings, essays, a speech or two and excerpts from Twain's travel books, including about one-fifth of A Tramp Abroad. Twain himself buried some of these pieces. The worst is a dull, 15-page takedown of another author's story, and then, as proof, the story itself, all 37 pages of it. So: Some of these pieces are hilarious, some are okay, some are strained, some are tedious.

[Jim]

As an compendium of all of Mark Twain's sketches there was some good and some not so good. Got to read about his famous frog three times. One time was a French translation he translated back into English. It was just like a game of telephone.

[Cindy Su]

Good.

[Mary Tuley]

Brilliant!

[Jenni]

I didn't realize how hilarious Twain was until I read this anthology. The best "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" -- truly, truly hysterical.

[Cws]

817.4(61)

[Ghoover318]

Read a sketch a night until finished. Reread most of them.

[Don Whitmer]

As with any collection of writings it had its ups and downs. I'm reading page 85 right now and I'm trying to save it to my Ipad so it's with me at almost all times. His pictures of the Rockies mining times are unforgettable. He could lighten up on his comments about certain ethnic groups. It's not the first-class humor to parade your prejudices. But his stories of silver mining times are priceless to me.