- Publisher: Audiobook Contractors
- Published Date: 2010
- Original Print Published: 1889
- ISBN: 1-60646-181-8
- Author: Mark Twain
- Read by: Flo Gibson
A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain is the classic 1889 novel about a 19th century engineer who is knocked unconscious and wakes up in 6th century England. It is one of the earliest ‘time travel’ stories. Most everyone is familiar with the outlines of this story and has probably seen one or another of its many adaptations in film, animation and so on. Probably very few of us have actually read the original text. While the basic story of a ‘modern’ man bringing technology to an ancient world is known, the story as written by Twain is a lot more sarcastic and brutal than I would have imagined.
Hank Morgan finds himself in Arthurian England sentenced to death, but uses his knowledge of science and technology to convince the populace that he is a mighty wizard. He performs many feats of ‘magic’ and overshadows Merlin, the current court wizard, on a regular basis. He soon becomes the main advisor to the king and is known as “The Boss.”
I was surprised by the brutality of the novel. It is not terribly graphic, but it definitely shows a brutal world, and the main character does little to counteract this brutality. In fact, by the end of the story, he is one of the most savage dealers of death. From slaves being hung for being in the same group where one of their number escaped, to blowing up knights and horses with explosives, to the ongoing ‘chivalry’ of knights killing each other for sport, it is not a civil place or time.
The ‘civilizing’ forces that ‘The Boss’ tries to implement, have little effect on the underlying social constructs of the time. Folks probably remember the basic plot, but what they may not realize is that it is also a denunciation of the Church and its hold on early societies (and probably on a significant portion of the late 19th century society). It is also a condemnation of the aristocratic society where birth (or wealth) makes someone more important and more ‘human’ than others.
It is an important lesson these days as even those who are suffering the most from the caste system of wealthy overlords still buy into the notion that it is the correct ‘order’ for society. Folks who believe that it takes kings and dukes and knights and priests (or other oligarchs) to rule them, have a hard time with concept of ‘all men are created equal.’ If your entire life you’ve been indoctrinated in such concepts, it becomes difficult to rise above them. It becomes easy to believe that ‘your betters’ will somehow rule you well. That God and King know better than you.
I strongly recommend A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court. It is not the light-hearted children’s story I was expecting, but it is an important piece of literature and carries lessons for us even today.
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