Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist, often praised as the United States’ greatest humorist. William Faulkner called him “the father of American literature.” His first novel, Innocents Abroad, was the story of a five-month trip to the Holy Land. My recent novel, Innocents at Home, features two women who were on that cruise with Mark Twain. The story begins as they are getting off the boat in New York after a five-month cruise to the Holy Land. While writing the book, I started wondering if Mark Twain’s books had inspired any other authors’ work.

Actually, several novels have been inspired by The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  At the end of the novel, on the eve of the Civil War, Huck and Tom Sawyer decide to escape civilization and go out west. In Robert Coover’s Huck Out West, the boys do just that, riding for the famous but short-lived Pony Express, then working as scouts for both sides in the war. The Boy in His Winter is also a sequel to Huck Finn, taking Jim and Huck through more adventures on the river. My Jim is a novel told from the point of view of Jim’s wife, left behind when he escapes with Huck, and James is the Huck Finn story told from Jim’s point of view.

Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper inspired The Scoundrel’s Son, which is a sequel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer paved the way for Tom Sawyer & the Treasure of the Dark Mystery.

Like my own novel, there are also stories about people from Mark Twain’s real life. Finn is the story of Huck’s father. It is described as “a deeply original tour de force that springs from Twain’s classic novel but takes on a fully realized life of its own.” Finally, Twain’s End is the story of Mark Twain’s private secretary and his business manager.

So if you love the characters Mark Twain created, or are interested in other aspects of his life, look for these novels.