The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

　　在大人眼中湯姆是頑童，在孩子心中湯姆卻是英雄，這個充滿了冒險與勇氣的故事，喚起孩子心中探索未知的想像與力量，也引領著大人回到兒時那段純真的歲月。

　　「雖然我寫這本書的主要動機是想為孩子們提供一些樂趣，但我希望大人們也會喜歡這本書。我想提醒成年人那些快樂的過去時光，讓大家回憶兒時的心情、想法和說過的話，也想起他們曾著迷於一些多麼奇怪有趣的事物。」~~馬克‧吐溫於哈特福，1867年。

　 　湯姆在失去父母之後，便由波莉姨媽收養。波莉姨媽雖然一心要將他教養成一位小紳士，但他卻經常翹課，夢想成為一名海盜，並常與朋友喬和哈克進行冒險旅 程。有一天湯姆和哈克無意間撞見了墳場的謀殺案，因為害怕被兇手發現而逃到附近一座小島，開始過著他們夢想的海盜生活。經過了離家的流浪生活之後，湯姆逐 漸想念姨媽家的安穩日子，終於戰勝恐懼，決定勇敢站出來揭發兇手……

　　本書中譯本<<湯姆歷險記>>由商周出版出版

　　One of the most irrepressible and exuberant characters in the history of literature, Tom Sawyer explodes onto the page in a whirl of bad behaviour and incredible adventures. Whether he is heaving clods of earth at his brother, faking a gangrenous toe, or trying to convince the world that he is dead, Tom's infectious energy and good humour shine through.

　　This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer features an afterword by playwright and screenwriter Peter Harness.

　　This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition features an afterword by Peter Harness.

　　Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

馬克‧吐溫Mark Twain

　　美國著名的作家、演說家。1835年出生於美國密蘇里州，四歲時 跟著家人搬到密蘇里州的漢尼拔小鎮定居；這裡後來成為《湯姆歷險記》的故事背景。他一生創作了大量作品，涵蓋小說、劇本、散文、詩歌等，作品以幽默、諷 刺、機智的反應而廣受歡迎；被認為是最具美國本色的作家，更有「文學中的林肯」之稱。諾貝爾文學獎得主威廉‧福克納更稱馬克‧吐溫為「第一位真正的美國作 家，我們都是繼承他而來」。

　　馬克‧吐溫的代表作有《湯姆歷險記》、《哈克貝利歷險記》、《百萬英鎊》等。他在《湯姆歷險記》的序文中 寫道：「本書中記載的冒險故事大多真實發生過，有些是我的親身經歷，有些則是我朋友的故事。湯姆和哈克都是根據真實人物而寫成，湯姆不單是一個人，而是結 合了我認識的三個男孩的特質，是三人的化身。」

　　Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Missouri in 1835. Early in his childhood, the family moved to Hannibal, Missouri - a town which would provide the inspiration for St Petersburg in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. When he started writing in earnest in his thirties, he adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain (the cry of a Mississippi boatman taking depth measurements, meaning 'two fathoms'), and a string of highly successful publications followed. His later life, however, was marked by personal tragedy and sadness, as well as financial difficulty. In 1894, several businesses in which he had invested failed, and he was declared bankrupt. Over the next fifteen years he saw the deaths of two of his beloved daughters, and his wife. Increasingly bitter and depressed, Twain died in 1910, aged seventy-four.