Originally published: Berkeley, Calif; London: University of California Press, 1969.

Join Huck and Jim as they journey down the Mississippi in this beloved companion to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer "and a standalone classic in its own right, with a fresh new cover and interior illustrations. "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"; but that ain't no matter," declares Huck at the start of one of the greatest books in American literature. Filled with all the humor, suspense, and sheer excitement of its predecessor, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"--a nostalgic portrayal of a world Mark Twain knew intimately--tells the moving story of a boy who must make his own way in an often cruel society that counts it a sin to help a runaway slave. This edition includes a modern cover and new illustrations from Iacopo Bruno. This new look coincides with a new edition of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer "and the publication of "The Absolutely Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher."

"No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger" is narrated by August Feldner, a sixteen-year-old printer's apprentice living in a remote Austrian village in the late fifteenth century. The print shop in which he works is located in a run-down old castle, which houses over a dozen people, including the print master, his family, and the various men who work in the shop, as well as a magician. August relates the magical events that occur in the castle after the arrival of a strange boy who says his name is "Number 44, New Series 864,962." Twain's central themes in this story include dreams and the imagination, as well as ideas, knowledge, and thought.

It was in 1590-winter. Austria was far away from the world, and asleep; it was still the Middle Ages in Austria, and promised to remain so forever. Some even set it away back centuries upon centuries and said that by the mental and spiritual clock it was still the Age of Belief in Austria. But they meant it as a compliment, not a slur, and it was so taken, and we were all proud of it. I remember it well, although I was only a boy; and I remember, too, the pleasure it gave me. Yes, Austria was far from the world, and asleep, and our village was in the middle of that sleep, being in the middle of Austria.

The Mysterious Stranger is a tale that is itself both mysterious and strange. Written by Mark Twain, better known for such humorous tales as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, the story concerns the visit of Satan to a medieval Austrian village. One of several versions which he wrote during his later life, it was only published posthumously by his biographer. It is a deeply serious book which examines the nature of morality and maintains a scathing attack on organized religion as a tool of oppression. If you are interested in seeing another side of one of America's most famous authors, The Mysterious Stranger is a fascinating read.

The Mysterious Stranger is the final novel attempted by the American author Mark Twain. He worked on it periodically from 1897 through 1908. The body of work is a serious social commentary by Twain addressing his ideas of the Moral Sense and the damned human race This version includes new illustrations.

In this first book on No. 44 in thirty years, thirteen especially commissioned essays by some of today's most accomplished Twain scholars cover an array of topics, from domesticity and transnationalism to race and religion, and reflect a variety of scholarly and theoretical approaches to the work. This far-reaching collection considers the status of No. 44 within Twain's oeuvre as they offer cogent insights into such broad topics as cross-culturalism, pain and redemption, philosophical paradox, and comparative studies of the "Mysterious Stranger" manuscripts. All of these essays attest to the importance of this late work in Twain's canon, whether considering how Twain's efforts at truth-telling are premeditated and shaped by his own experiences, tracing the biblical and religious influences that resonate in No. 44, or exploring the text's psychological dimensions. Several address its importance as a culminating work in which Twain's seemingly disjointed story lines coalesce in meaningful, albeit not always satisfactory, ways. An afterword by Alan Gribben traces the critical history of the "Mysterious Stranger" manuscripts and the contributions of previous critics. A wide-ranging critical introduction and a comprehensive bibliography on the last century of scholarship bracket the contributions. Close inspection of this multidimensional novel shows how Twain evolved as a self-conscious thinker and humorist--and that he was a more conscious artist throughout his career than has been previously thought. Centenary Reflections deepens our understanding of one of Twain's most misunderstood texts, confirming that the author of No. 44 was a pursuer of an elusive truth that was often as mysterious a stranger as Twain himself.

The Mysterious Stranger, published posthumously in 1916, belongs to Twain's "dark" period. At the time of composition, Twain had suffered a series of painful physical, economic, and emotional losses. In his chilling tale, a stranger named Satan visits an old Austrian town to convince the religious faithful that there is no God, and "nothing exists; all is a dream."

"STARTLING . . . FIENDISH . . . MEMNOCH'S TALE IS COMPELLING." --New York Daily News "Like Interview with the Vampire, Memnoch has a half-maddened, fever-pitch intensity. . . . Narrated by Rice's most cherished character, the vampire Lestat, Memnoch tells a tale as old as Scripture's legends and as modern as today's religious strife." --Rolling Stone "SENSUAL . . . BOLD, FAST-PACED." --USA Today "Rice has penned an ambitious close to this long-running series. . . . Fans will no doubt devour this." --The Washington Post Book World "MEMNOCH THE DEVIL OFFERS PASSAGES OF POETIC BRILLIANCE." --Playboy "[MEMNOCH] is one of Rice's most intriguing and sympathetic characters to date. . . . Rice ups the ante, taking Lestat where few writers have ventured: into heaven and hell itself. She carries it off in top form." --The Seattle Times