Other editions of book THE MAN THAT CORRUPTED HADLEYBURG And Other Stories

‘The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg’ gives its title to this collection of short stories by Mark Twain. We find here the old Mark, with a difference. The years that bring the philosophic mind have made of the inimitable humorist a writer of stories with a purpose. But the author's purpose is not permitted to thwart the reader's, which is to get at least one good laugh out of everything that Mark Twain signs. As the present tales and sketches reprinted from Harper's, The Century, The Cosmopolitan, etc., contain more than one laugh each, the reader should not be disappointed who finds them provocative of thought as well as of mirth.

This delightful collection of lesser-known gems by Mark Twain begins with the story of a town called Hadleyburg, which prides itself on the honesty of its citizens. One day a citizen of Hadleyburg offends a stranger passing through, who vows to take his revenge by revealing just how corruptible the sanctimonious town really is. Twain is at his best here, poking fun at common hypocrisy as the self-satisfied pillars of the community are done in by their own greed. Other stories in the collection include: "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "The One Million Pound Bank Note," "Edward Mills and George Benton: A Tale," "The Stolen White Elephant," "Cannibalism in the Cars," "The Man Who Put Up at Gadsby's," "The Story of the Good Little Boy," "The Story of the Bad Little Boy," "Baker's Blue Jay Yarn: What Stumped the Blue Jays," and "A Double Barreled Detective Story." Produced by Alcazar AudioWorks with original music by David Thorn

Excerpt: ... myself to use the word Jew as if it stood for both religion and race. It is handy; and, besides, that is what the term means to the general world. In the above letter one notes these points: 1. The Jew is a well-behaved citizen. 2. Can ignorance and fanaticism alone account for his unjust treatment? 3. Can Jews do anything to improve the situation? 4. The Jews have no party; they are non-participants. 5. Will the persecution ever come to an end? 6. What has become of the Golden Rule? Point No. 1.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories is a collection of stories by the famous American author Mark Twain that includes the titular story. The collection includes: THE MAN THAT CORRUPTED HADLEYBURG MY FIRST LIE, AND HOW I GOT OUT OF IT THE ESQUIMAUX MAIDEN’S ROMANCE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND THE BOOK OF MRS. EDDY IS HE LIVING OR IS HE DEAD? MY DEBUT AS A LITERARY PERSON AT THE APPETITE-CURE CONCERNING THE JEWS FROM THE ‘LONDON TIMES’ OF 1904 ABOUT PLAY-ACTING TRAVELLING WITH A REFORMER DIPLOMATIC PAY AND CLOTHES LUCK AND MORE… Odin’s Library Classics is dedicated to bringing the world the best of humankind’s literature from throughout the ages. Carefully selected, each work is unabridged from classic works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama.

THE MAN THAT CORRUPTED HADLEYBURG It was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder of it than of any other of its possessions. It was so proud of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetuation, that it began to teach the principles of honest dealing to its babies in the cradle, and made the like teachings the staple of their culture thenceforward through all the years devoted to their education. Also, throughout the formative years temptations were kept out of the way of the young people, so that their honesty could have every chance to harden and solidify, and become a part of their very bone. The neighbouring towns were jealous of this honourable supremacy, and affected to sneer at Hadleyburg’s pride in it and call it vanity; but all the same they were obliged to acknowledge that Hadleyburg was in reality an incorruptible town; and if pressed they would also acknowledge that the mere fact that a young man hailed from Hadleyburg was all the recommendation he needed when he went forth from his natal town to seek for responsible employment. But at last, in the drift of time, Hadleyburg had the ill luck to offend a passing stranger—possibly without knowing it, certainly without caring, for Hadleyburg was sufficient unto itself, and cared not a rap for strangers or their opinions. Still, it would have been well to make an exception in this one’s case, for he was a bitter man, and revengeful. All through his wanderings during a whole year he kept his injury in mind, and gave all his leisure moments to trying to invent a compensating satisfaction for it. He contrived many plans, and all of them were good, but none of them was quite sweeping enough: the poorest of them would hurt a great many individuals, but what he wanted was a plan which would comprehend the entire town, and not let so much as one person escape unhurt. At last he had a fortunate idea, and when it fell into his brain it lit up his whole head with an evil joy. He began to form a plan at once, saying to himself “That is the thing to do—I will corrupt the town.” Six months later he went to Hadleyburg, and arrived in a buggy at the house of the old cashier of the bank about ten at night. He got a sack out of the buggy, shouldered it, and staggered with it through the cottage yard, and knocked at the door. A woman’s voice said “Come in,” and he entered, and set his sack behind the stove in the parlour, saying politely to the old lady who sat reading the “Missionary Herald” by the lamp: “Pray keep your seat, madam, I will not disturb you. There—now it is pretty well concealed; one would hardly know it was there. Can I see your husband a moment, madam?” No, he was gone to Brixton, and might not return before morning.

It was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder of it than of any other of its possessions. It was so proud of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetuation, that it began to teach the principles of honest dealing to its babies in the cradle, and made the like teachings the staple of their culture thenceforward through all the years devoted to their education. Also, throughout the formative years temptations were kept out of the way of the young people, so that their honesty could have every chance to harden and solidify, and become a part of their very bone. The neighbouring towns were jealous of this honourable supremacy, and affected to sneer at Hadleyburg's pride in it and call it vanity; but all the same they were obliged to acknowledge that Hadleyburg was in reality an incorruptible town; and if pressed they would also acknowledge that the mere fact that a young man hailed from Hadleyburg was all the recommendation he needed when he went forth from his natal town to seek for responsible employment.

1928 edition 5.0 out of 5 stars Another Hilarious Mark Twain Story March 25, 2010 By Louie Louie You probably know the story already. For those who haven't read it, my summary won't do the story justice, but here it is anyway: The people of Hadleyburg were incorruptible. Every town around envied this town's position as having the most honest people in the country, if not the world. That is, until a stranger passed through and was treated with honest rudeness by the Hadleyburgers. After scores of plans to corrupt the incorruptible, the man finally satisfied himself that this one would do. $40,000 was at stake. And the Hadleyburgers all wanted it, longed for it and decided to try to get it, even though they would have to be dishonest to get it. I loved this story. It made me wonder if the Twilight Zone, Button Button, had come from this. It is a fast read. Fun. And you won't regret having read it. Believe me. This time I really mean it. Honestly. ( Amazon customer review)

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Excerpt from The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg: And Other Stories and SketchesIT was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder Of it than Of any other of its possessions. It was SO proud Of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetua tion, that it began to teach the principles Of honest dealing to its babies in the cradle, and made the like teachings the staple Of their culture thenceforward through all the years devoted to their education. Also, throughout the formative years temptations were kept out Of the way Of the young people, so that their honesty could have every chance to harden and solidify, and become a part Of their very bone. The neighbouring towns were jealous of this honourable supremacy, and affected to sneer at Hadleyburg's pride in it and call it vanity; but all the same they were obliged to acknowledge that Hadleyburg was in reality an incorruptible town and if pressed they would also acknowledge that the mere fact that a young man hailed from Hadleyburg was all the recommendation he needed when he went forth from his natal town to seek for responsible employment.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.