Tom Sawyer Detective by Mark Twain, summary

If you're at all like me, you like Mark Twain. If you are a lot like me, you especially like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The adventures of Huckleberry Finn .

However, did you know there are two more Tom Sawyer books? I’ll talk about Tom Sawyer Abroad in another hub. In this hub I’d like to introduce you to Tom Sawyer Detective .

Tom Sawyer Detective is a mystery story involving stolen diamonds and a twin brother, long since presumed dead. The twin, named Jake Dunlap, is a burglar who has escaped prison years ago and has recently teamed up with two more of his kind to steal two diamonds worth many thousands of dollars. During their treacherous dealings with each other, Jake has stolen the diamonds from his partners in a surprising way. The two bilked thieves are now in pursuit of Jake and are bent on killing him and recovering the diamonds.

Tom Sawyer Detective is also a story of jealousy. Tom’s Uncle Silas, a farmer and the town’s parson, has refused to let a richer and more influential land owner, Brace Dunlap, marry his daughter and is forced to take on his “no account brother”, Jubiter Dunlap, Jake’s twin, as a laborer on his farm. Uncle Silas is repeatedly angered by Jubiter to the point of constant quarreling, which puts Tom’s uncle out of favor with the townsfolk as conduct unbecoming of a parson.

On the steamboat ride downriver to Arkansas to visit Tom’s uncle and his family in their distress, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are thrust into the middle of the action, and consequent mystery. They meet Jake, Jubiter’s twin, and the thief in possession of the stolen diamonds, on board the steamboat. Tom and Huck decide to help Jake. They arrange for him to sneak ashore upriver of Tom’s uncle’s farm while the ship is taking on wood. Jake’s old partners have been tipped off by someone else onboard and get off the steamboat hot on his trail.

Tom and Huck are delayed getting off the steamboat and arrive only after what they believe to be a murder has taken place. Only, there is no body. They meet up with what they assume to be Jake’s ghost; only he turns out to be a living, breathing man who won’t speak to them. To further complicate things, Brace’s brother, Jubiter, has disappeared. Also, Tom’s uncle has started to act strangely, moaning, sighing, and walking in his sleep.

Ultimately, Tom’s uncle is charged with murder, but who has been killed and where are the diamonds? Tom is forced to take on the role of detective, and even courtroom lawyer, in order to save his uncle and solve the mystery.

To top it all off, Mark Twain assures his readers that this is a real murder case of which he has only moved the location, changed the characters to his own familiar ones, and altered very few of the important details.

Huckleberry Finn narrates Tom Sawyer Detective. Huck is my favorite Mark Twain character. What I like most about Huck, and this book in particular, is Huck Finn’s personality, and his unique way of describing and looking at things. Huck is always getting the “fantods” about something, and when he does he has an enjoyable way of telling us so. Here are some examples of Huck’s speech:

“And all my livers and lungs and things fell down into my legs.”

“But, by George, they give me the jim-jams and the fantods and caked up what brains I had, and turned them solid.”

“Uncle Silas he preached them the blamedest jumblest idiotic sermons you ever struck, and would tangle you up so you couldn’t find your way home in daylight.”

If you haven’t done so already, I hope you will read Tom Sawyer Detective. If you have read it, why not revisit it? I’m sure, in either case, you will find it well worth your time.