Other editions of book The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories

The Mysterious StrangerandOther StoriesbyMark TwainThe 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".ContentsThe Mysterious StrangerA FableHunting the Deceitful TurkeyThe McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm

"The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories" is a collection of Mark Twain's most loved short stories. In this collection you will find the following tales: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Facts Concerning The Recent Carnival Of Crime In Connecticut, The Stolen White Elephant, Luck, The £1,000,000 Bank Note, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, The Five Boons Of Life, Was It Heaven? Or Hell?, and The Mysterious Stranger.

Twain’s unfinished last novel, The Mysterious Stranger tells the story of Satan, the angelic nephew of the prince of darkness that is his namesake. A teenager and self-described angel, Satan’s foresight and magic cause a medieval Austrian village to erupt into mass hysteria, resulting in tragedy. Ultimately a critique on organized religion and the seemingly inevitable damnation of all mankind, this unfinished masterpiece remains a fascinating read for Twain scholars and general audiences alike.

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. It drowsed in peace in the deep privacy of a hilly and woodsy solitude where news from the world hardly ever came to disturb its dreams, and was infinitely content. At its front flowed the tranquil river, its surface painted with cloud-forms and the reflections of drifting arks and stone-boats; behind it rose the woody steeps to the base of the lofty precipice; from the top of the precipice frowned a vast castle, its long stretch of towers and bastions mailed in vines; beyond the river, a league to the left, was a tumbled expanse of forest-clothed hills cloven by winding gorges where the sun never penetrated; and to the right a precipice overlooked the river, and between it and the hills just spoken of lay a far-reaching plain dotted with little homesteads nested among orchards and shade trees. The whole region for leagues around was the hereditary property of a prince, whose servants kept the castle always in perfect condition for occupancy, but neither he nor his family came there oftener than once in five years. When they came it was as if the lord of the world had arrived, and had brought all the glories of its kingdoms along; and when they went they left a calm behind which was like the deep sleep which follows an orgy. Eseldorf was a paradise for us boys. We were not overmuch pestered with schooling. Mainly we were trained to be good Christians; to revere the Virgin, the Church, and the saints above everything. Beyond these matters we were not required to know much; and, in fact, not allowed to. Knowledge was not good for the common people, and could make them discontented with the lot which God had appointed for them, and God would not endure discontentment with His plans. We had two priests. One of them, Father Adolf, was a very zealous and strenuous priest, much considered. There may have been better priests, in some ways, than Father Adolf, but there was never one in our commune who was held in more solemn and awful respect. This was because he had absolutely no fear of the Devil. He was the only Christian I have ever known of whom that could be truly said. People stood in deep dread of him on that account; for they thought that there must be something supernatural about him, else he could not be so bold and so confident. All men speak in bitter disapproval of the Devil, but they do it reverently, not flippantly; but Father Adolf’s way was very different; he called him by every name he could lay his tongue to, and it made everyone shudder that heard him; and often he would even speak of him scornfully and scoffingly; then the people crossed themselves and went quickly out of his presence, fearing that something fearful might happen. Father Adolf had actually met Satan face to face more than once, and defied him. This was known to be so. Father Adolf said it himself. He never made any secret of it, but spoke it right out. And that he was speaking true there was proof in at least one instance, for on that occasion he quarreled with the enemy, and intrepidly threw his bottle at him; and there, upon the wall of his study, was the ruddy splotch where it struck and broke.

'The Mysterious Stranger: and Other Stories' by American author Mark Twain, contains the novel 'The Mysterious Stranger' and the short stories 'A Fable', 'Hunting the Deceitful Turkey', and 'The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm'. 'The Mysterious Stranger' is the final novel attempted by Mark Twain. The body of work is a serious social commentary by Twain addressing his ideas of the Moral Sense and the "damned human race".

In The Mysterious Stranger, a sleepy Austrian village is visited by Satan, an angel who is the nephew of the more famous, evil Satan. Satan (acting as a mouthpiece for Twain) objectively points out how the human race is defined by fear, lies, betrayal, suspicion, and cowardice. Twain presents us with the burning of an innocent woman as a witch, the abandonment of a kind family by their friends, and a drunkard beating his loyal dog until the poor animal’s eye is smashed out. Towards the end, Satan has this bombshell: he doesn’t exist, and neither does God--how could there be a greater power when humanity is as sickening and loathsome as it is?

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". Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "The Great American Novel".

Mark Twain's last significant work is also one of his greatest. The Mysterious Stranger challenges the most fundamental thinking processes that Twain's contemporaries were used to, as well as our own in this day and age, the novel still being extremely authentic and leading modern day readers to return to the roots of what they believe, and search for truth.This collection of Twain's works includes many short stories from throughout his illustrious career, most of which are centered around the topic of money, as well as around the great writer's overall negative opinion of American society and values. We are acquainted with a poor man being used as part of an experiment by two wealthy millionaires in The $1,000,000 Bank Note.The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg is another true masterpiece, outlining the story of an incorruptible town and its dealings with the temptation of money. Twain exposes the drawbacks of the false sense of social responsibility, mob mentality and hypocrisy that can still often be seen even in today's society.Finally, The Mysterious Stranger is the main highlight of this story collection. This short novel is set up in a 16th century Austrian village, where Satan arrives to expose morally questionable tendencies and many other weaknesses associated with anything from family and childhood to war, religion and justice – all concepts tackled by Twain in a ferocious attempt to expose the mistakes that humanity has taken for granted in its acceptance of the common roles, ideals and rules attributed to these significant subjects.The Mysterious Stranger, as well as Mark Twain's other impressive works included in this collection are considered controversial by some and brilliant by others. It is well worth exploring Twain's majestic writings, however, and forming your own unique opinion about the concepts, psychological considerations and moral ideals that are approached in these impressive stories.