2 h 44 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 44 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A boy who loves detective stories faces a real crime—and his own uncle falls under suspicion.
Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn travel to Arkansas to stay with Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas Phelps. But their visit brings more than farm life. A serious crime nearby puts gentle Uncle Silas in danger, and Tom takes on a mystery that matters to a family he loves.
In Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, Detective, Huck tells the story with plain words and loyal admiration for his friend. Tom studies the facts, notices what does not fit, and works toward his own explanation. The action leads into the courtroom, where his love of detective stories meets trouble far beyond a boyhood game.
What you’ll discover
- Huck's plainspoken view Follow a loyal narrator whose faith in Tom brings warmth and humor to the mystery.
- Tom takes the lead Watch a clever, showy boy turn careful observation toward a crime close to home.
- A family under suspicion Share Aunt Sally's anxiety as her kindly husband faces serious trouble.
- Facts that do not fit Look alongside Tom as he studies the evidence and builds his own explanation.
- Crime meets courtroom Enjoy a quick, funny adventure where detective work carries real stakes for the Phelps family.
Who will love it
Readers who like a clever puzzle, a boy detective, a river setting and a courtroom scene, and who enjoy Huck's warm, joking voice telling an adventure that fits in one sitting.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Spring fever sends the boys south
- A hunted man hides on the steamboat
- Diamonds, sugar and a pair of boots
- The ghost in the sycamores
- A shovel, a grave and a confession
- What the story is really about
Who’s who
- Tom SawyerA quick, showy boy who loves a mystery and an audience, and who sets out to save his uncle from the gallows.
- Huck FinnTom's loyal friend, who tells the story in his own plain voice and admires Tom's mind even when he is frightened.
- Uncle SilasA kind, dreamy preacher on an Arkansas farm, worn down by quarrels and ready to accept blame for a crime.
- Aunt SallySilas's sharp-tongued, warm-hearted wife, who greets the boys with slaps and kisses and wants only to keep her family safe.
- BennyThe gentle daughter of the farm, who comforts her father and whom a rich neighbor wants to marry against her wishes.
- Brace DunlapA rich, proud widower and owner of enslaved people, who turns bitter when Benny refuses him and wants the family to pay.
- Jubiter DunlapBrace's lazy, sly younger brother, hired by Uncle Silas to keep the peace, and the twin of a runaway thief.
- Jake DunlapJubiter's twin, a thief long thought dead, who hides on a steamboat in whiskers and goggles and begs the boys to help him.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 2 h 44 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Tom Sawyer détective in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Tom Sawyer détective
by Mark Twain · 1896
Two boys on a steamboat meet a hunted thief in disguise, then find a murder charge hanging over Uncle Silas.
Easy read2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Tom Sawyer, Detective is a short novel by Mark Twain. It is told by Huck Finn and picks up the spring after he and Tom help free Jim on Uncle Silas's farm in Arkansas.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Spring fever sends the boys south
The story opens with a feeling every reader knows. Huck Finn, who tells it, describes spring fever, the restless ache of a boy who wants to be anywhere but home. It is the spring after Tom and Huck helped free Jim from Uncle Silas's farm in Arkansas, and the two friends sit on Aunt Polly's front steps feeling sorry for themselves. Tom is sure his aunt will never let him quit school to wander.
Then Aunt Polly comes out with a letter from Aunt Sally. Huck is ready to cheer, but Tom sits still and says he must be excused for now. Huck is furious until Tom explains in a whisper. If Aunt Polly sees how much he wants to go, she will start imagining dangers and take the offer back. So Tom plays the reluctant boy, his aunt loses her temper, and her own pride makes her send him anyway.
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What is Tom Sawyer, Detective about?
Tom and Huck travel to Arkansas to visit Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally. On the way they meet a thief in disguise carrying stolen diamonds, and soon a murder charge threatens Silas. Tom uses sharp observation to unravel it.
Is Tom Sawyer, Detective based on a true story?
Twain says in his author's note that the events come from an old Swedish criminal trial. He changed the people, moved the scenes to America and added a few details, so the core plot comes from a real case.
Do I need to read Huckleberry Finn first?
The story stands on its own. Huck explains who Tom, Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas are as he goes, and mentions freeing Jim only briefly, so a new reader can follow every scene comfortably.
The author
Mark Twain
1835–1910 · American humorist and novelist
Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, an American author born in Missouri in 1835. He lived in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1874 to 1891. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Prince and the Pauper (1881). He died in Redding, Connecticut, in 1910.
More by Mark Twain
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