A new biography inexplicably exhumes the book-banning case against Huckleberry Finn.
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Mark Twain portrait, c. 1907
Library of Congress
A few years before his death, Mark Twain wandered into a local library that refused to put The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on its shelves on the grounds that it was damaging to schoolchildren. When Twain asked the librarian what was offensive about the book, he told him it was because, in the course of the story, Huck lies.
“Is there nothing else against him?” Twain asked, according to his 1907 retelling.
About the Author
Christian Schneider is a National Review contributor and writes the Anti-Knowledge newsletter. He is a co-host of the podcast Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL.
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A few years before his death, Mark Twain wandered into a local library that refused to put The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on its shelves on the grounds that it was damaging to schoolchildren. When Twain asked the librarian what was offensive about the book, he told him it was because, in the course of the story, Huck lies.
“Is there nothing else against him?” Twain asked, according to his 1907 retelling.
About the Author
Christian Schneider is a National Review contributor and writes the Anti-Knowledge newsletter. He is a co-host of the podcast Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL.
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