Project Gutenberg 1998-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 1033 Twain, Mark 1835 1910 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens) The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_That_Corrupted_Hadleyburg David Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk Transcribed from the 1907 Chatto & Windus edition "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" by Mark Twain is a satirical novella written in the late 19th century, addressing themes of morality, hypocrisy, and human nature. The story revolves around the town of Hadleyburg, heralded as the most honest community in America. Twain exposes the town's self-righteousness and its residents' inability to maintain their integrity when faced with temptation, primarily focusing on the corrupting influence of wealth and pride. Through the narrative, readers are introduced to characters such as the mysterious stranger and the Richards couple, reflecting the moral dilemmas inherent in their attempts to uphold their esteemed reputation. The opening of the novella establishes Hadleyburg as a paragon of virtue, having cultivated an unwavering reputation for honesty over generations. However, this façade of integrity is threatened when a stranger arrives seeking revenge on the town for a past grievance. He leaves behind a sack of gold coins intended for the man who once helped him in distress, but with a caveat that tests the town's values and exposes their hypocrisy. As the news of the sack spreads, the residents' greed leads them down a treacherous path, revealing the fragility of their moral principles. The narrative intricately weaves their reactions, illustrating their descent into temptation and the resulting moral quandary, setting the stage for the ensuing chaos and revelations about human nature. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 79.7 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Humorous stories, American United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction PS Text Category: Novels Category: American Literature 134360 2025-08-01T08:55:13.310429 text/html 119542 2024-06-04T21:13:38 text/html 295491 2025-08-01T08:55:16.250434 application/epub+zip 296048 2025-08-01T08:55:14.179427 application/epub+zip 138941 2025-08-01T08:55:13.670425 application/epub+zip 428358 2025-08-01T08:55:17.920422 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 415455 2025-08-01T08:55:15.944424 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 199721 2022-09-01T09:57:25.787758 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 124160 2025-08-01T08:55:13.020442 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 104316 2024-06-04T21:13:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16823 2025-08-01T08:55:18.048426 application/rdf+xml 6862 2025-08-01T08:55:13.933429 image/jpeg 1253 2025-08-01T08:55:13.797432 image/jpeg 337043 2025-08-01T08:55:13.326484 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia