Despite the claims of Melville, Hawthorne and Washington Irving, Twain's pioneering, picaresque river saga could well be the first great American novel. It certainly remains the definitive sourcebook of US fiction; as Hemingway once said of it: "it's the best book we've had Not only does Twain confront such contentious issues as racism and slavery, he also celebrates the power and unexpected poetry of vernacular speech. Above all, he never allows the reader to forget that Huck is a child encountering a corrupt, adult world.
Subversive though he was, Twain had shrewd commercial instincts and in 1885 did not offer his complete manuscript for publication. In 1990, the first half of the original manuscript was discovered in an old trunk. The result is this attractive, comprehensive edition complete with the neatly reinserted excised passages and explanatory foot notes.
