Prince-the-pauper

Two boys who happen to look alike swap clothes for an afternoon, and neither gets his own life back on schedule. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain is set in sixteenth century England, where a royal heir and a child from the streets exchange places and each discovers what the other's world actually costs. Twain uses the switch to examine justice, privilege and the difference between rank and character, and he does it with the humour that keeps the book readable for children while leaving the social argument intact for adults. Why it holds up: • A swapped identity plot that carries real social commentary • Tudor London described through two very different sets of eyes • Humour that makes the argument land without lecturing • Twain's complete novel in the Collins Classics paperback series Suited to younger readers, classroom use and adults returning to Twain, published in Collins Classics and available at Boipoka.