The Prince and the Pauper is a lucidly written masterpiece by Mark Twain. Easily comprehensible, the book is a display of sheer genius. All the characters have been thoroughly explained and as you go along, you fall in love with most of them especially the Prince and the Knight Miles Hendon. The former is a personification of pampered innocence while the latter is an epitome of self-less generosity.
The story doesn't take long to shift gears and as soon as the two protagonists shift places (by mistake, of course), things start to get interesting. The author succeeds in raising antipathy towards some characters especially the head of the Canty family (Pauper's family). The characters are so plainly black and white that even children can comprehend the book with minimal effort.
The book also tastes success in creating the milieu of the era. The concept of whipping boy is queer yet believable. For trivia, whipping boy is a person in the kingdom who takes the punishment on behalf of the prince if the latter is not doing well in studies. Teachers, afraid of hitting the would-be king, hit the whipping boy and his earnings are commensurate to the whipping he gets.
The end again is very happy, despite the death of the King. Despite the trials and tribulations the young prince goes through, one constantly gets the feeling that it is only for the time being and everything will change for good. This makes it even more loveable. The apprehensions of the pauper in the kingdom have also been captured well. All in all, a good read for those looking for a change from the run-of-the-mill preaching fictions. The story has been plainly stated and it is up to the reader to extract the morals. No explicit attempt has been made to do the same.
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