A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Book description
In this classic satiric novel, published in 1889, Hank Morgan, a supervisor in a Connecticut gun factory, falls unconscious after being whacked on the head. When he wakes up he finds himself in Britain in 528 — where he is immediately captured, hauled back to Camelot to be exhibited before…
Why read it?
4 authors picked A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This novel may seem an odd choice since King Arthur is likely more fictional than historical, yet Mark Twain, for all his humor, uses the novel as a satire upon the wrongs of capitalism and his late nineteenth-century society.
Hank Morgan, the Connecticut Yankee, intentionally tries to change history by making medieval England a better place. He does this by trying to rid the land of superstition and the hold that charlatans like Merlin have over the country, but he is also a complex character who is not unwilling to use medieval superstition to his advantage.
By the end of…
From Tyler's list on time travel with characters who try to change history.
What can I say about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court? Seriously, what can I say? I was just a young kid when I read it. I still have the book. But I don’t remember details or have anything insightful that I can say about it. But I do remember being highly entertained and digging the time travel idea. That plot device really caught my imagination and I just have this very vague memory of being transported back to those mythical days as if the book itself were a time portal.
I also remember feeling really at home…
From Chuck's list on fiction that is more hysterical than historical.
I love Mark Twain and it was hard to choose just one of his many books. Several fit the bill of my theme: a person pulled out of their place or time and having to contend with the possibility of magic. Connecticut Yankee fits my idea of great fantasy. I like to have characters one might reasonably meet at a bar. At the same time, I want those characters to be out of place or time and have to use their wits in extraordinary ways. Hank Morgan is an average guy who is thrust back in time to King Author's…
From Marva's list on combining magic with the mundane.
It is the year 528 and Hank, an unsuspecting time traveler, plunges straight into the court of King Arthur in Camelot only to find himself tasked with looking after a damsel in distress. The book was first published in 1889 and still has me in stitches. It is a comedy, a satire, with a beautifully imagined power struggle between the highly suspicious Merlin and Hank, a modern-day engineer. It’s a light-hearted treat of a book with wonderful characters and a fabulous setting that brings King Arthur’s court with all its chivalry and intrigues vividly to life.
From Nicola's list on historical books set in Cornwall.
Want books like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court?
Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 94 books like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
Browse books like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in time travel, King Arthur, and knights?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about time travel, King Arthur, and knights.