The Prince and the Pauper

First published in 1881, this novel is set in Tudor London. Tom Canty, a beggar's son from Offal Court, and Prince Edward, heir of Henry VIII, meet, exchange clothes, and are each mistaken for the other. Tom is trapped in palace ritual while Edward is driven through the city's courts, prisons, and highways, seeing how the poor and the accused are treated under his father's laws. Miles Hendon becomes the prince's protector on the road. The plot turns on whether the switch can be proven before a coronation. The book is a historical adventure about identity and justice, not a life of Edward VI.

Bound in grey-green cloth cover blocked with a design by Frances Button based on the first. Dark blue endleaves. Dark blue slipcase.