A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. By Mark Twain. First Edition, First State. Charles L. Webster. New York, 1889.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is one of Mark Twain’s most popular novels. It is a deeply humorous work following the Yankee engineer Hank Morgan who is magically transported to medieval England during the mythological reign of King Arthur. The novel satirizes chivalry, monarchy, and in some ways, the Industrial Revolution. It is also credited as an early example of the time travel genre. In Twain’s lifetime, it was not immediately recognized as one of his better works, but critics and readers have returned to Connecticut Yankee with fondness and with admiration for its genre-specific contributions. It showcases Twain’s incredible humor, narrative range, and wide breadth of interests. For any Twain collector, it is an essential volume.

This first edition, first state is in very good condition. In the original cloth, very good with some bumping to corners and spine ends, rubbing and tears to spine ends, and minor rubbing to boards. Text block very good with only front hinge just starting and soiling to bottom edge. Former owner’s bookplate to front pastedown. First state indicated by “S” ornament in the illustration on page 59 and unbroken type on page 72.

A scarce first edition of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.