13 h 58 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How honest is a town when a sack of gold puts its proudest claim to the test?
In Mark Twain's The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories, a stranger brings temptation to a town proud of its honesty. He leaves gold and a letter at the home of bank cashier Edward Richards and his wife, Mary. A fortune awaits the person who once helped him. As news spreads, Hadleyburg's good name faces a test it cannot simply avoid.
The title story anchors this collection of short fiction and sketches, where sharp satire meets tenderness, humor, and plain argument. Edward and Mary share hopes and fears about the gold, while Reverend Burgess is drawn into a public meeting about who deserves it. Beyond Hadleyburg, Twain's shorter pieces move between the comic and the serious, asking uncomfortable questions about human nature.
What you’ll discover
- Honesty under pressure Watch a town's cherished reputation meet the temptation it has never learned to resist.
- A fortune at home Follow Edward and Mary as sudden wealth brings hope, fear, and difficult choices.
- Laughter with an edge Enjoy Twain's dry, mock-serious voice as he probes greed and hypocrisy.
- Lighter and stranger turns Explore shorter tales and sketches that mingle humor, tenderness, satire, and serious questions.
- Virtue beyond reputation Consider the unsettling difference between avoiding temptation and standing firm when it arrives.
Who will love it
Readers who love sly humor, moral puzzles and true adventure will enjoy this book. So will fans of Twain's voice and anyone curious about satire on money and belief.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Honesty sheltered from temptation remains untested
- Wanting a prize can manufacture memories
- Public virtue becomes a public contest
- Belief still needs the test of evidence
- Silence can carry a public lie
- Steady leadership holds frightened people together
- Need exposes strange rules of value
- Laughter leaves room for sorrow
- Self examination keeps humor from plain scorn
Who’s who
- Edward RichardsA poor bank cashier in Hadleyburg who hopes the stranger's gold will free him from his salary and his debts.
- Mary RichardsEdward's wife, who first calls the gold gamblers' money and soon dreams of how she would spend it.
- Reverend BurgessThe town's disliked minister, chosen by the stranger to open the sack and test every claim in the town hall.
- Jack HallidayA lazy, kind fisherman who notices the town's mood changing and makes fun of everyone in sight.
- Mrs. FullerA large, upright Christian Science healer from Boston who tells Twain that pain and broken bones do not exist.
- LascaA cheerful Eskimo girl who proudly lists her father's riches and hopes to be loved for herself alone.
- Captain Josiah MitchellThe steady commander of the burning Hornet, who steers an open boat across the doldrums with fifteen men.
- GretchenA quick-tongued maid in a German village who guards two sisters and their sweethearts, for a good price.
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The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories
by Mark Twain · 1900
A stranger leaves a sack of gold in Hadleyburg, and nineteen proud families begin to lose sleep over one sentence.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What would it take to make a spotless town tell a lie? In the title story, a bitter stranger arrives in Hadleyburg at night, leaves a sack of gold with an old cashier's wife, and drives away.
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h6 h 20 min fast, 9 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 114,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1900by Mark Twain
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A proud town meets a patient stranger
Hadleyburg has kept its name for honesty spotless for three generations. It teaches babies the rules of fair dealing in their cradles and keeps its young people away from temptation.
Then the town offends a passing stranger, probably without noticing. He is bitter, and for a year he plans a revenge that will hurt every person in the place. At last he decides to corrupt the town. He arrives at ten at night at the home of the bank's old cashier, leaves a heavy sack with Mrs. Richards, and is gone before she can ask a question.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1900
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Twain, Mark. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-that-corrupted-hadleyburg-and-other-stories.
Twain, M. (2026). The man that corrupted Hadleyburg, and other stories. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-that-corrupted-hadleyburg-and-other-stories (Original work published 1900)
Twain, Mark. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-that-corrupted-hadleyburg-and-other-stories.
@book{twain2026man,
author = {Twain, Mark},
title = {The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-man-that-corrupted-hadleyburg-and-other-stories},
note = {First published 1900}
}
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What is The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg about?
A bitter stranger leaves a sack of gold in an honest town and sets a public test for its citizens. Twain uses the plot to ask whether virtue that has never been tested can survive a real temptation.
Who is the stranger in Hadleyburg?
He is a traveler who feels deeply wronged by the town and plans a revenge on all its people. The story gives no name for him, and the letters he sends are signed Stephenson.
What other stories are in this collection?
Besides the title tale, the book holds a piece on Christian Science, an essay on lying, the shipwreck account of the Hornet, a German-lesson play, the Jumping Frog history, and a poem for Twain's daughter Olivia.
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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