The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

A funny, loose-limbed boyhood book that turns into a real thriller in its second half. The village jokes and the school and church scenes are the best of it; the pace sags in the middle and the language includes period slurs. Four out of five (draft). Read it if: you want a comic novel about boyhood, full of schemes and superstitions; you like adventure stories that start funny and turn dark; you want to meet huck finn before his own book. Skip it if: you want a tight plot: the early chapters are episodes; period language and slurs will be a barrier for you; you expect a quiet children's story: there is a murder in chapter nine.

Our ending explained covers the final chapters in full, with spoilers. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ending explained: what happens to Injun Joe in the cave, how Tom and Becky escape, who finds the gold, and why Huck runs away. Full spoilers. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ending explained →

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer summary, chapter by chapter, following what Tom trades: the fence, the graveyard, the island, the cave and the gold. Full spoilers. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Summary: What Tom Trades →

Tom Sawyer is a boy in the village of St. Petersburg on the Mississippi who lives with his Aunt Polly. The book follows his schemes, his first love for Becky Thatcher, a murder he witnesses in a graveyard with Huckleberry Finn, a spell as a pirate, and a search for buried gold.

The Project Gutenberg text has a preface, thirty-five chapters and a short Conclusion. By our count that is about 73,000 words.

Twain's preface in the Gutenberg text is dated Hartford, 1876.

Twain's preface says Tom is not one real boy, but a mix of the traits of three boys he knew. He says Huck Finn is drawn from life, and that most of the adventures really happened.

The preface says it is meant mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, but Twain hopes adults will read it too, to be reminded of what they once were. Some of the language, including period slurs, will need context for young readers.