This is a later state of the first UK edition of Mark Twain’s “A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur,” more famously known as “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” The copyright of this copy is 1890, however; the Chatto & Windus catalogue at the back is dated Sept. 1894, indicating this a later printing of the famous time-travel novel.
The book is in fair condition and would make an excellent reading copy. The spine has a significant tilt, and the boards have staining, rubbing and bumping. The pages are clean and intact, and the hinges are not splitting, a rarity in books of this age.
The novel follows Hank Morgan, a pragmatic and skilled 19th-century mechanic from Connecticut, who is suddenly transported—after a blow to the head—to England in the early medieval era of King Arthur. Initially captured and threatened with execution as a sorcerer, Hank uses his knowledge of modern technology, industry, and organizational methods to save himself, gain influence at court, and set about “modernizing” Camelot.
The novel shifts tones between broad comedy, satirical polemic, and darker critique. While Hank’s innovations demonstrate the transformative potential of technology and rational reform, Twain also shows the unintended consequences: modernization aggravates class tensions, fuels militarization, and provokes violent backlash from entrenched powers. The climax is tragic—Hank’s industrial kingdom is overrun in a devastating battle that reveals the limits of technological progress when imposed from above and when ethics and social cohesion lag behind. Hank survives the destruction but is ultimately betrayed and killed, and his final narration reflects disillusionment: the dream of rational enlightenment is complicated by human cruelty, institutional resistance, and the moral ambiguities of power. Twain’s work blends humor with social criticism, making the novel both an adventure and a pointed commentary on the values of his own era.
This is a later state of the first UK edition of Mark Twain’s “A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur,” more famously known as “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” The copyright of this copy is 1890, however; the Chatto & Windus catalogue at the back is dated Sept. 1894, indicating this a later printing of the famous time-travel novel.
The book is in fair condition and would make an excellent reading copy. The spine has a significant tilt, and the boards have staining, rubbing and bumping. The pages are clean and intact, and the hinges are not splitting, a rarity in books of this age.
The novel follows Hank Morgan, a pragmatic and skilled 19th-century mechanic from Connecticut, who is suddenly transported—after a blow to the head—to England in the early medieval era of King Arthur. Initially captured and threatened with execution as a sorcerer, Hank uses his knowledge of modern technology, industry, and organizational methods to save himself, gain influence at court, and set about “modernizing” Camelot.
The novel shifts tones between broad comedy, satirical polemic, and darker critique. While Hank’s innovations demonstrate the transformative potential of technology and rational reform, Twain also shows the unintended consequences: modernization aggravates class tensions, fuels militarization, and provokes violent backlash from entrenched powers. The climax is tragic—Hank’s industrial kingdom is overrun in a devastating battle that reveals the limits of technological progress when imposed from above and when ethics and social cohesion lag behind. Hank survives the destruction but is ultimately betrayed and killed, and his final narration reflects disillusionment: the dream of rational enlightenment is complicated by human cruelty, institutional resistance, and the moral ambiguities of power. Twain’s work blends humor with social criticism, making the novel both an adventure and a pointed commentary on the values of his own era.
