Mark Twain called his 1876 novel a "hymn to boyhood, " and it remains an archetypal vision of pre–Civil War small-town America. Readers of all ages delight in its humorous narrative, delivered in a voice as mischievous and good-hearted as Tom Sawyer himself. Generations have played hooky with Twain’s young hero, chuckling at his pranks and thrilling in his starry-eyed search for buried treasure. This handsome edition is the only hardcover version that features all of True Williams’s endearing illustrations. Chosen by Twain himself, Williams was the first artist to depict Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, leaving an indelible stamp on the popular image of American childhood.