The Historian's Huck Finn

Reviews / Votes

"Though the bibliographic record does not indicate it as such, this is actually an edition of Mark Twain's Huck Finn, not just a book about that novel. Huck Finn is set several decades before its 1884 publication, which has often confused readers. Dighe's 170 annotations to this edition will help readers understand the novel's historical context. The notes address slave ownership and abolition, slang and dialect, steamboat terminology, the value of money, types of river commerce, food, clothing, and almost every other feature of 19th-century life depicted in the novel. The volume also features dozens of illustrations: selections of Edward Kemble's drawings made for the first edition along with contemporary photographs and other images that help convey a sense of the novel's setting. A preface geared toward history teachers interested in adding Huck Finn to their lesson plans offers suggestions about how to pair it with textbooks or integrate it with other historical readings. Two chapters preceding the text of the novel contextualize the work in terms of Twain's life and 19th-century themes of prosperity, expansion, inequality, and commercialism. This is a fine edition of the novel for new readers and is especially valuable for those wishing to gain a deeper understanding of its times. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." - Choice "The edition Dighe has prepared promised to introduce readers to the novel through an unconventional, interdisciplinary lens, perhaps generating fresh perspectives on these debates and others. At CMTS, we vigorously applaud the implicit position of The Historian's Huck Finn, that Twain's works make valuable contributions to courses outside the Department of English." - Center for Mark Twain Studies "This literature dissection will be of interest to undergraduate students and scholars researching history and literature of the United States. Those studying U.S. economics will also benefit from this examination. Recommended." - ARBA