#171 in Historical fiction
The Prince and the Pauper
- 256
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
- Film 2004 +11
- On screen
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
“The Prince and the Pauper” is an identity-swap tale that doubles as a look at injustice: a prince learns at first hand how the poor live. Mark Twain set his first historical novel in the England of 1547, and some readers admire its research as much as its humour and depth. Others, coming for his wit, find it less funny than his other books and too plainly aimed at children.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot concerns the accession of nine-year-old Edward VI to the throne of England in 1547 and his interactions with look-alike Tom Canty, a London pauper who lives with his abusive, alcoholic father.
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen 12 times — from 1915 to 2012.
- FilmBarbie as the Princess and the PauperIMDb
- Short filmThe Prince and the PauperIMDb
- FilmBarbie: The Princess & the PopstarIMDb
- FilmThe Prince and the PauperIMDb
- FilmThe Prince and the PauperIMDb
- FilmThe Prince and the PauperIMDb
- FilmThe Prince and the Pauper: The MovieIMDb
- FilmTere Mere SapneIMDb
- FilmI Am a KingIMDb
- TV filmThe Prince and the PauperIMDb
- FilmRaja Aur RunkIMDb
- FilmThe Prince and the PauperIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.2 across 186 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 56% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Historical fiction average of 8.0. That is how 7.6 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.6 | 39 | 21% |
| Hardcover | 7.1 | 147 | 79% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Prince and the Pauper?
It has 256 pages — shorter than 88% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 6.6 and 8.4, closest to this book.
