Project Gutenberg 1998-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 658 Twain, Mark 1835 1910 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens) The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg David Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk Transcribed from the 1907 Chatto & Windus edition "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" by Mark Twain is a satirical novella written in the late 19th century, addressing themes of morality, hypocrisy, and human nature. The story revolves around the town of Hadleyburg, heralded as the most honest community in America. Twain exposes the town's self-righteousness and its residents' inability to maintain their integrity when faced with temptation, primarily focusing on the corrupting influence of wealth and pride. Through the narrative, readers are introduced to characters such as the mysterious stranger and the Richards couple, reflecting the moral dilemmas inherent in their attempts to uphold their esteemed reputation. The opening of the novella establishes Hadleyburg as a paragon of virtue, having cultivated an unwavering reputation for honesty over generations. However, this façade of integrity is threatened when a stranger arrives seeking revenge on the town for a past grievance. He leaves behind a sack of gold coins intended for the man who once helped him in distress, but with a caveat that tests the town's values and exposes their hypocrisy. As the news of the sack spreads, the residents' greed leads them down a treacherous path, revealing the fragility of their moral principles. The narrative intricately weaves their reactions, illustrating their descent into temptation and the resulting moral quandary, setting the stage for the ensuing chaos and revelations about human nature. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Humorous stories, American United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction PS Text Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: Humour Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 134277 134317 2024-09-01T08:51:38.365011 2023-10-01T08:10:14.947934 text/html text/html 119542 2024-06-04T21:13:38 text/html 295269 2024-09-01T08:51:41.729519 application/epub+zip 296065 2024-09-01T08:51:39.338083 application/epub+zip 138958 2024-09-01T08:51:38.766003 application/epub+zip 428364 2024-09-01T08:51:43.587486 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 415461 2024-09-01T08:51:41.394597 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 199721 2022-09-01T09:57:25.787758 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 124164 124197 2024-09-01T08:51:38.148997 2023-10-01T08:10:14.728942 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 104316 2024-06-04T21:13:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16666 2024-09-01T08:51:43.719463 application/rdf+xml 6862 2024-09-01T08:51:39.068003 image/jpeg 1253 2024-09-01T08:51:38.913005 image/jpeg 337025 2024-09-01T08:51:38.382012 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia