Mark Twain was an author both drawn to and suspicious of authority, and his novels reflect this tension. Marked by disruptions, repetitions and contradictions, they exemplify the ideological stand-off between the American ideal of individual freedom and the reality of social control. This book provides a fresh look at Twain's major novels such as Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The difficulties...