Synopses & Reviews
Three detective stories by Mark Twain with an introduction by Walter Mosely, the modern master of mystery writing, and an afterword by noted scholar Lillian S. Robinson. "The Stolen White Elephant" is a broad farce mocking the self-proclaimed omniscience of many fictional detectives, told entirely in the form of a series of ridiculous telegraphs. Revolving around the theft of a literal white elephant, the gift of the King of Siam, this manifestly absurd story is nevertheless modeled after the real life efforts of a blundering New York Police Department to recover the corpse of one Alexander T. Stewart, stolen from his family vault in 1878. "A Double-Barreled Detective Story" is another delightful spoof of the mystery genre, then in its infancy, this time introducing the reader to Sherlock Holmes as he has never been seen before or since. Far from his usual elegant London haunts, the great detective is caught up in a melodramatic murder mystery of love, betrayal, and vengeance in a rough California mining town. Finally, in "Tom Sawyer, Detective," Twain gives us a lively adventure featuring Tom Sawyer as the great detective and Huck Finn as his Watson, investigating diamond thefts and murders back in Hannibal. Three delightful stories, all with Twain's trademark wit and sense of fun.
Synopsis
The King of Siam's decision to send the Queen of England a literal white elephant as a gift sets in motion a broad farce targeting the self-proclaimed brilliance of the corrupt and incompetent chief of New York City detectives in Twain's delightfully absurd story, "A Stolen White Elephant." In "Tom Sawyer, Detective," writes Lillian Robinson in her afterword, "Twain casts his famous Missouri adolescents, Tom and Huck, in the roles of Conan Doyle's phenomenally successful detectives, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson." The story of mistaken identities, diamond thefts, and murders is set at the Phelps farm, where the final chapters of Huckleberry Finn take place. "A Double Barreled Detective Story," Twain's spoof of the mystery genre, then in its infancy, introduces the reader to Sherlock Holmes as he has never been seen before or since. Far from his usual elegant London haunts, the great detective is caught up in a melodramatic murder mystery of love, betrayal, and vengeance in a rough California mining town.
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: THE PASTORAL COMMITMENT AND THE LOGIC OF TRADITION
1. Pastoralists and the Spirit of Enterprise
2. Polygyny and the Manifestations of Inequality
3. The Dynamics of Age Systems in East Africa
PART II: THE HISTORICAL CONTINUUM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PASTORALIST IDEALS
4. The Chamus Tradition of Pre-Pastoral Origins
5. The Thrust of Pastoral Innovations in Chamus.
6. The Emergence of Individualism and New Forms of Inequality
PART III: PASTORALISM AND THE THRUST OF CHANGE
7. Population Growth, Development, and the Malthusian Dilemma
8. Pastoralists and the Threshold of Change
9. The Extension of the Continuum and the Spread of the Desert
References. Index.
Introduction
PART I: THE PASTORAL COMMITMENT AND THE LOGIC OF TRADITION
1. Pastoralists and the Spirit of Enterprise
2. Polygyny and the Manifestations of Inequality
3. The Dynamics of Age Systems in East Africa
PART II: THE HISTORICAL CONTINUUM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PASTORALIST IDEALS
4. The Chamus Tradition of Pre-Pastoral Origins
5. The Thrust of Pastoral Innovations in Chamus.
6. The Emergence of Individualism and New Forms of Inequality
PART III: PASTORALISM AND THE THRUST OF CHANGE
7. Population Growth, Development, and the Malthusian Dilemma
8. Pastoralists and the Threshold of Change
9. The Extension of the Continuum and the Spread of the Desert
References. Index.