Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or as it is known in more recent editions, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, the narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective) and a friend of Tom Sawyer. It is a direct sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Documented challenge/ban history: Racial slurs, racial themes — Read about this book on Wikipedia · ALA Frequently Challenged Classics, long-running
  • 1885 — Banned by the Concord, Massachusetts Public Library shortly after publication, calling it "trash and suitable only for the slums"
  • 2011 — A NewSouth Books edition replaces the novel's racial slur throughout the text, reigniting debate over altering the original
Some printings of this book were altered: In 2011 NewSouth Books published an edition, edited by Alan Gribben, that replaces the novel's racial slur with "slave" 219 times.

Printings to check: NewSouth Books edition (2011); NewSouth Books edition (2011). Editions that fit are flagged below.

Source: Publishers Weekly (January 2011); National Coalition Against Censorship

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