A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by the American humorist and writer Mark Twain. In the book, a Yankee engineer from Connecticut is accidentally transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, where he fools the inhabitants of that time into thinking he is a magician-and soon uses his knowledge of modern technology to become a "magician" in earnest, stunning the English of the Early Middle Ages with such feats as demolitions, fireworks and the shoring up of a holy well. He attempts to ...
Read More
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by the American humorist and writer Mark Twain. In the book, a Yankee engineer from Connecticut is accidentally transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, where he fools the inhabitants of that time into thinking he is a magician-and soon uses his knowledge of modern technology to become a "magician" in earnest, stunning the English of the Early Middle Ages with such feats as demolitions, fireworks and the shoring up of a holy well. He attempts to modernize the past, but in the end he is unable to prevent the death of Arthur and an interdict against him by the Catholic Church of the time, which grows fearful of his power. Twain wrote the book as a burlesque of Romantic notions of chivalry after being inspired by a dream in which he was a knight himself, and severely inconvenienced by the weight and cumbersome nature of his armor.
Read Less
Add this copy of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court to cart. $16.91, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2016 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Add this copy of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court to cart. $42.47, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by CreateSpace Independent Publis.
I don't know what was published first this book or Innocents Abroad but one or the other of them may have influenced the other one.I have read over 100 versions of the King Arthur tale and this tongue in cheek look at King Arthur is wonderful. Henry died in 1858 because the date of Hank Morgan's
burning at the stake is the same as the date of Henry's death. In any regard, considering his loss, Twain had a vision of how technology might have influenced the middle ages. Bing Crosby who played the part in the musical movie of Hank Morgan convinces the King to go out among his people as a beggar to see how his kingdom is faring. I am not sure this was in the book but it; would certainly have been one of Twain's concerns about society and superstitution.
SLGF
Aug 13, 2007
Modern Inventions for King Arthur
Mark Twain has imagined how wonderful / terrible it would be to introduce all the brand new inventions (of the late 19th century) to the dark ages in England. His hero remains an optimistic Yankee to the end. His observations on human nature seem very relavent today.