The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Edition)

The title story still shocks a century later, and it's simply wrong to dismiss it as "bitter" or "pessimistic". The premise is simple enough: in 16th Century Austria, an angel appears to three boys. But Twain's angel is not the usual cliche, and the changes he rings on the theme are constantly surprising. There is a bit of speechifying, but the philosophical challenges Twain throws down are real and well worth pondering.

MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. What if Satan came to your village and hung out with you and your chums, for a few spells? This work was published 6 years after MT's death, and the arguments, presented in a compelling narrative, should END the use of "religion" by anyone who seeks to improve his station, here or in any heaven, at the expense of others.

Linda (Whisper1) sent me this book because I had never heard of Twain’s novella, The Mysterious Stranger. Of the four stories in the book I had previously read only the first story, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, a short and humorous folk tale published in 1865. According to the blurb on the back, the stories in this volume were chosen to span Twain’s entire writing career. The second story, The 1,000,000 Pound Bank-Note, is a light-hearted tale about a destitute young man who is given a bank note he can’t cash so how will he be able to survive? I loved The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, a masterful story about greed and hypocrisy. The final story, The Mysterious Stranger, was published posthumously in 1916 and show more reveals how disillusioned Twain had ultimately become with humanity and the universe. It’s a strange but fascinating dark fantasy set in the Middle Ages with a character who is omniscient and a surprising twist at the end. Although I cannot buy Twain’s ending this story gives the reader a lot to ponder. Highly recommended show less

The four stories in this collection span Twain's career. The first two are light-hearted, but 'The Man that conquered Hadleyburg' and 'The Mysterious Stranger' are both bitter in their playing out of the plot. The latter was particularly dark (which is appropriate, since it was set in the Dark Ages!). I found myself, as a Christian, thinking that this story was an embodiment of what Satan really does - he tells half truths and deludes one into thinking that it is the whole truth.

I enjoyed all of the stories except the title story. The first time I've run across something by Mark Twain that I just didn't like at all.