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StoryPDFA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtMark Twain

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain

Complete text
NovelEnglish

A practical American finds himself in King Arthur's England, where his knowledge of machinery looks like magic. As he wins influence at court, he tries to replace inherited authority and superstition with the institutions and inventions he knows from home.

45 sections118,062 wordsAbout 8 h 57 min
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About A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Twain sets brisk technical confidence against chivalric spectacle, making both medieval cruelty and modern self-assurance targets of satire. The narrator's entrepreneurial voice gives the adventure its momentum, but the consequences of his reforms complicate his claim to superior wisdom. Watch how jokes about knights become arguments about power, labor, and obedience.

Reading focus

Follow a time travel adventure that tests technological confidence against entrenched privilege and the costs of imposing progress.

This reading edition contains 118,062 words in 45 original sections. Read the text online with adjustable type and three colour themes, or keep a printable PDF.

Author: Mark Twain. Language: English. Reading edition: 28 October 2026.

Opening excerpt

PREFACE

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Contents

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  1. Preface and A Word of Explanation13 min
  2. CHAPTER I. CAMELOT4 min
  3. CHAPTER II. KING ARTHUR’S COURT10 min
  4. CHAPTER III. KNIGHTS OF THE TABLE ROUND10 min
  5. CHAPTER IV. SIR DINADAN THE HUMORIST6 min
  6. CHAPTER V. AN INSPIRATION9 min
  7. CHAPTER VI. THE ECLIPSE11 min
  8. CHAPTER VII. MERLIN’S TOWER11 min
  9. CHAPTER VIII. THE BOSS11 min
  10. CHAPTER IX. THE TOURNAMENT11 min
  11. CHAPTER X. BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION8 min
  12. CHAPTER XI. THE YANKEE IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURES14 min
  13. CHAPTER XII. SLOW TORTURE8 min
  14. CHAPTER XIII. FREEMEN15 min
  15. CHAPTER XIV. “DEFEND THEE, LORD”7 min
  16. CHAPTER XV. SANDY’S TALE14 min
  17. CHAPTER XVI. MORGAN LE FAY11 min
  18. CHAPTER XVII. A ROYAL BANQUET15 min
  19. CHAPTER XVIII. IN THE QUEEN’S DUNGEONS19 min
  20. CHAPTER XIX. KNIGHT-ERRANTRY AS A TRADE6 min
  21. CHAPTER XX. THE OGRE’S CASTLE12 min
  22. CHAPTER XXI. THE PILGRIMS21 min
  23. CHAPTER XXII. THE HOLY FOUNTAIN18 min
  24. CHAPTER XXIII. RESTORATION OF THE FOUNTAIN13 min
  25. CHAPTER XXIV. A RIVAL MAGICIAN18 min
  26. CHAPTER XXV. A COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION20 min
  27. CHAPTER XXVI. THE FIRST NEWSPAPER15 min
  28. CHAPTER XXVII. THE YANKEE AND THE KING TRAVEL INCOGNITO14 min
  29. CHAPTER XXVIII. DRILLING THE KING7 min
  30. CHAPTER XXIX. THE SMALLPOX HUT11 min
  31. CHAPTER XXX. THE TRAGEDY OF THE MANOR-HOUSE17 min
  32. CHAPTER XXXI. MARCO13 min
  33. CHAPTER XXXII. DOWLEY’S HUMILIATION11 min
  34. CHAPTER XXXIII. SIXTH CENTURY POLITICAL ECONOMY19 min
  35. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE YANKEE AND THE KING SOLD AS SLAVES19 min
  36. CHAPTER XXXV. A PITIFUL INCIDENT13 min
  37. CHAPTER XXXVI. AN ENCOUNTER IN THE DARK7 min
  38. CHAPTER XXXVII. AN AWFUL PREDICAMENT12 min
  39. CHAPTER XXXVIII. SIR LAUNCELOT AND KNIGHTS TO THE RESCUE4 min
  40. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE YANKEE’S FIGHT WITH THE KNIGHTS17 min
  41. CHAPTER XL. THREE YEARS LATER13 min
  42. CHAPTER XLI. THE INTERDICT7 min
  43. CHAPTER XLII. WAR!18 min
  44. CHAPTER XLIII. THE BATTLE OF THE SAND BELT22 min
  45. CHAPTER XLIV. A POSTSCRIPT BY CLARENCE6 min

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This edition contains the complete English literary text, with 45 sections and 118,062 words. This reading edition preserves the checked English text and its section order. No study notes have been added.

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