clxv, 480 pages : 26 cm

"Michael Patrick Hearn, author of the national bestseller The Annotated Wizard of Oz, has done equal justice to this great American novel. A Twain literary sleuth and an authority on children's literature, he considers all the literary, social, historical, and autobiographical aspects of Twain's classic tale of Huck and Jim's trip down the mighty Mississippi. In lively and fascinating annotations, Hearn's notes draw on everything from letters, manuscripts, and contemporary newspapers to the author's own frequent revisions and notes, various critical responses to the publication, and much previously unpublished material. The substantial introduction is, in essence, a mini-biography of a book and a man whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), and it recounts the novel's remarkably prickly history, resulting in its being banned perhaps more than any other work in American history." "In this new edition, the characters of Hannibal, Missouri, come vividly alive, as if Hearn was steering the raft itself. We encounter, among others, the kindhearted Widow Douglas, the dreaded Miss Watson; the enlightened runaway slave Jim, whom Huck meets on Jackson's Island; an endless parade of thieves, slaveowners, and sheer opportunists; as well as Tom Sawyer and Aunt Sally, whose desire to adopt and "sivilize" Huck propels him to flee to the American West. Likewise, the Mississippi River "emerges as a living force regardless of the vain attempts of men to tame it." Hearn, by illustrating literary and historical themes that we never knew before, demonstrates that Huckleberry Finn did more than merely redefine the "bad-boy's book"; it galvanized and transformed world literature."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 471-480)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -- Civilizing Huck -- Miss Watson -- Tom Sawyer Waits -- The Boys Escape Jim -- Tom Sawyer's Gang -- Deep-laid Plans -- A Good Going-over -- Grace Triumphant -- "One of Tom Sawyer's Lies" -- Huck and the Judge -- Superstition -- Huck's Father -- The Fond Parent -- Reform -- He Went for Judge Thatcher -- Huck Decides to Leave -- Political Economy -- Thrashing Around -- Laying for Him -- Locked in the Cabin -- Sinking the Body -- Resting -- Sleeping in the Woods -- Raising the Dead -- Exploring the Island -- Finding Jim -- Jim's Escape -- Signs -- "Balum" -- The Cave -- The Floating House -- The Find -- Old Hank Bunker -- In Disguise -- Huck and the Woman -- The Search -- Prevarication -- Going to Goshen -- Slow Navigation -- Borrowing Things -- Boarding the Wreck -- The Plotters -- Hunting for the Boat -- Escaping from the Wreck -- The Watchman -- Sinking -- A General Good Time -- The Harem -- French -- Huck Loses the Raft -- In the Fog -- Huck Finds the Raft -- Trash -- Expectations -- A White Lie -- Floating Currency -- Running by Cairo -- Swimming Ashore -- An Evening Call -- The Farm in Arkansaw -- Interior Decorations -- Stephen Dowling Bots -- Poetical Effusions -- Col. Grangerford -- Aristocracy -- Feuds -- The Testament -- Recovering the Raft -- The Woodpile -- Pork and Cabbage -- Tying Up Day-times -- An Astronomical Theory -- Running a Temperance Revival -- The Duke of Bridgewater -- The Troubles of Royalty -- Huck Explains -- Laying Out a Campaign -- Working the Campmeeting -- A Pirate at the Camp-meeting -- The Duke as a Printer -- Sword Exercise -- Hamlet's Soliloquy -- They Loafed Around Town -- A Lazy Town -- Old Boggs -- Dead -- Sherburn -- Attending the Circus -- Intoxication in the Ring -- The Thrilling Tragedy -- "Sold" -- Royal Comparisons -- Jim Gets Homesick -- Jim in Royal Robes -- They Take a Passenger -- Getting Information -- Family Grief -- Is It Them? -- Sing the "Doxolojer" -- Awful Square -- Funeral Orgies -- A Bad Investment -- A Pious King -- The King's Clergy -- She Asked His Pardon -- Hiding in the Room -- Huck Takes the Money -- The Funeral -- Satisfying Curiosity -- Suspicious of Huck -- Quick Sales and Small Profits -- The Trip to England -- "The Brute!" -- Mary Jane Decides to Leave -- Huck Parting with Mary Jane -- Mumps -- The Opposition Line -- Contested Relationship -- The King Explains the Loss -- A Question of Handwriting -- Digging Up the Corpse -- Huck Escapes -- The King Went for Him -- A Royal Row -- Powerful Mellow -- Ominous Plans -- News from Jim -- Old Recollections -- A Sheep Story -- Valuable Information -- Still and Sunday-like -- Mistaken Identity -- Up a Stump -- In a Dilemma -- A Nigger Stealer -- Southern Hospitality -- A Pretty Long Blessing -- Tar and Feathers -- The Hut by the Ash-hopper -- Outrageous -- Climbing the Lightning Rod -- Troubled with Witches -- Escaping Properly -- Dark Schemes -- Discrimination in Stealing -- A Deep Hole -- The Lighting Rod -- His Level Best -- A Bequest to Posterity -- A High Figure -- The Last Shirt -- Mooning Around -- Sailing Orders -- The Witch Pie -- The Coat of Arms -- A Skilled Superintendent -- Unpleasant Glory -- A Tearful Subject -- Rats -- Lively Bed-fellows -- The Straw Dummy -- Fishing -- The Vigilance Committee -- A Lively Run -- Jim Advises a Doctor -- The Doctor -- Uncle Silas -- Sister Hotchkiss -- Aunt Sally in Trouble -- Tom Sawyer Wounded -- The Doctor's Story -- Tom Confesses -- Aunt Polly Arrives -- "Hand Out Them Letters" -- Out of Bondage -- Paying the Captive -- Yours Truly, Huck Finn -- "Jim and the Dead Man" -- The "Raft Episode" -- An Unpublished Chapter -- "Give Us a Rest" -- The Corpse-Maker Crows -- "The Child of Calamity" -- They Both Weaken -- Little Davy Steps In -- After the Battle -- Ed's Adventures -- Something Queer -- A Haunted Barrel -- It Brings a Storm -- The Barrel Pursues -- Killed by Lightning -- Allbright Atones -- Ed Gets Mad -- Snake or Boy? -- "Snake Him Out" -- Some Lively Lying -- Off and Overboard