This Library of America volume contains the novels that, when published, transformed an obscure Western journalist into a national celebrity. The Innocents Abroad and Roughing It (sometimes called The Innocents at Home) were immensely successful when first published and they remain today the most popular travel books ever written. The Innocents Abroad (1869), based largely on letters written for New York and San Francisco papers, narrates the progress of the first American organized tour of Europe—to Naples, Smyrna, Constantinople, and Palestine. In his account Mark Twain assumes two alternate roles: at times the no-nonsense American who refuses to automatically venerate the famous sights of the Old World (preferring Lake Tahoe to Lake Como), or at times the put-upon simpleton, a gullible victim of flatterers and “frauds,” and an awestruck admirer of Russian royalty. The result is a hilarious blend of vaudevillian comedy, actual travel guide, and stinging satire, directed at both the complacency of his fellow American travelers and their reverence for European relics. Out of the book emerges the first full-dress portrait of Mark Twain himself, the breezy, shrewd, and comical manipulator of English idioms and America’s mythologies about itself and its relation to the past. Roughing It (1872) is the lighthearted account of Mark Twain’s actual and imagined adventures when he escaped the Civil War and joined his brother, the recently appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory. His accounts of stagecoach travel, Native Americans, frontier society, the Mormons, the Chinese, and the codes, dress, food, and customs of the West are interspersed with his own experiences as a prospector, miner, journalist, boon companion, and lecturer as he traveled through Nevada, Utah, California, and even to the Hawaiian Islands. Mark Twain’s passage from tenderfoot to old-timer is accomplished through a long series of increasingly comical episodes. The plot is relaxed enough to accommodate some immensely funny and random character sketches, animal fables, tall tales, and dramatic monologues. The result is an enduring picture of the old Western frontier in all its original vigor and variety. In these two works, never before brought together so compactly, Mark Twain achieves his mastery of the vernacular style. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Introducing Diversion Classics, an illustrated series that showcases great works of literature from the world's most beloved authors. In this parody of a traditional travelogue, Mark Twain chronicles his expedition through Europe to the Holy Land. Although based on true events, THE INNOCENTS ABREAD is as full of ironic wit and smart satire as any of Twain’s novels. As the story takes us from France to Rome to Jerusalem, we discover truths about our world and its inhabitants, seen through Twain’s uniquely humorous lens.

Mark Twain's classic tale of Americans on the rampage gets an irreverent, hilarious makeover in this new annotated edition. Follow Twain as he tramps through Europe and the Middle East during a global pandemic, this time with a 21st-century fellow traveler in tow. This new take on The Innocents Abroad confronts Twain's 1860s attitudes toward race, making the book newly relevant for readers in the 2020s, who are still dealing with racism and pandemics 160 years later. This edition includes the full text of Twain's book, along with informative (and often shockingly funny) annotations, an up-to-date bibliography, and a freshly customized index of terms and concepts.

The Innocents Abroad sold over 70,000 copies in its first year and remained the bestselling of Twain's works throughout his lifetime. This classic records Twain's keen wit and amusing observations during his trip through Europe and the Holy Land in 1867. This edition also includes all of the original work's charming illustrations. 234 black-and-white illustrations.

The Innocents Abroad - Volume 01 by Mark Twain For months the great pleasure excursion to Europe and the Holy Land was chatted about in the newspapers everywhere in America and discussed at countless firesides. It was a novelty in the way of excursions-its like had not been thought of before, and it compelled that interest which attractive novelties always command. It was to be a picnic on a gigantic scale. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Known as one of American literature's finest humor writers, Mark Twain took on the travel genre in the series of essays, sketches, and observations collected in The Innocents Abroad. From classic fish-out-of-water shenanigans to keen insight into the differences between American culture and its European and Middle Eastern counterparts, this volume is an engaging and rewarding read.

One of the most famous travel books ever written by an American, Twain's hilarious satire impales with sharp wit both the chauvinist and the cosmopolitan. Includes a new Introduction and Afterword. Revised reissue.