The Prince and the Pauper
Two boys born on the same day in Tudor London, one a prince and one a beggar’s son, discover they are near-identical and trade places for a lark. The joke turns serious when they cannot switch back: young Edward Tudor is thrust into the filth and cruelty of the streets, while Tom Canty stumbles through palace life in constant dread of exposure. Twain uses the swap to show a future king the injustice his own laws inflict, sharpening a satire of rank, poverty, and blind custom. Written with younger readers in mind but pointed enough for adults, it remains one of his most durable historical tales. This free PDF and EPUB edition brings the whole adventure to new readers.
About the Author
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and grew up in Hannibal on the banks of the Mississippi. Most of his fiction would later draw on that childhood, sometimes directly. He worked as a printer’s apprentice, then…
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Listen to The Prince and the Pauper Audiobook Free
Listen to The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain free online. The full audiobook (6 hr 56 min, 20 chapters, read by John Greenman) streams free on this page.
The Prince and the Pauper (1881) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01 – The birth of the Prince and the Pauper / 02 – Tom’s early life / 03 – Tom’s meeting with the Prince | 27:35 | |
| 2 | 04 – The Prince / 05 – Tom as a patrician | 23:57 | |
| 3 | 06 – Tom receives instructions | 15:43 | |
| 4 | 07 – Tom’s first royal dinner / 08 – The question of the Seal | 13:39 | |
| 5 | 09 – The river pageant / 10 – The Prince in the toils | 22:46 | |
| 6 | 11 – At Guildhall | 10:49 | |
| 7 | 12 – The Prince and his deliverer | 23:28 | |
| 8 | 13 – The disappearance of the Prince | 8:39 | |
| 9 | 14 – ‘Le Roi est mort—vive le Roi’ | 22:44 | |
| 10 | 15 – Tom as King | 22:40 | |
| 11 | 16 – The state dinner / 17 – Foo-foo the First | 27:24 | |
| 12 | 18 – The Prince with the tramps / 19 – The Prince with the peasants | 27:13 | |
| 13 | 20 – The Prince and the hermit / 21 – Hendon to the rescue | 23:50 | |
| 14 | 22 – A victim of treachery / 23 – The Prince a prisoner | 18:08 | |
| 15 | 24 – The escape / 25 – Hendon Hall | 19:47 | |
| 16 | 26 – Disowned / 27 – In prison | 27:53 | |
| 17 | 28 – The sacrifice / 29 – To London / 30 – Tom’s progress | 16:47 | |
| 18 | 31 – The Recognition procession | 12:22 | |
| 19 | 32 – Coronation Day | 24:57 | |
| 20 | 33 – Edward as King / Conclusion – Justice and Retribution | 25:23 |
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