The Mysterious Stranger

In The Mysterious Stranger, which was unfinished at the time of his death, Twain unleashes his sardonic, freewheeling wit to present deeply nihilistic philosophical and religious views in an audacious narrative that concludes with one of his most haunting lines. In 1590, three boys in a remote Austrian village are befriended by an attractive, charismatic stranger. Before he vanishes, the stranger devises supernatural ways to expose the boys to the puniness of existence, the violence that religious belief provokes, and sham that is human morality. This Warbler Classics edition includes a close examination by Ryan Simmons of the history, philosophical insights, and literary merits of the original 1916 text of The Mysterious Stranger, as well as an extensive biographical timeline.