The American Claimant

by Mark Twain

"The American Claimant" by Mark Twain is a novel published in 1892. This comedy of mistaken identities follows an American colonel who discovers he's heir to a British earldom, while a British viscount journeys to America seeking to renounce his aristocracy and live as an ordinary man. Their paths collide in a tale of switched roles, romantic confusion, and clashing ideals about democracy versus hereditary privilege. Twain notably experimented with this work, using phonographic dictation and placing all weather descriptions in an appendix.