This 1873 novel satirizes the hypocrisy and greed of Reconstruction-era America. The title became synonymous with the era to later historians. The novel has two parallel stories. One, written by Twain, concerns the efforts of a poor Tennessee family to become rich through land speculation; the other, written by Warner, tells of the money-lusting scheme of two young men.
Circa l’autore
Mark Twain (1835-1910), born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is said to be America’s greatest humorist. William Faulkner called him the father of American literature. Ernest Hemmingway added, “all modern American literature stems from one book by Mark Twain.” He was referring to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900) was an American novelist, essayist, and travel writer. In addition to his collaboration with Mark Twain, which produced The Gilded Age, he wrote four other novels and numerous works of non-fiction.