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The Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain
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London, 1547. Tom Canty, a boy raised in poverty, meets Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, and their extraordinary resemblance encourages them to exchange clothes. Palace guards mistake Edward for a beggar and drive him into the streets, while Tom is trapped inside the royal household and expected to behave as Henry VIII's heir.
Edward experiences hunger, punishment and the unequal operation of Tudor law, while Tom learns how court ceremony conceals political uncertainty. After Henry VIII's death, both boys must reach the coronation before the exchange becomes permanent. The adventure uses mistaken identity to contrast royal privilege with the lives of the poor.
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