Mark Twain 
The American Claimant 

‘The American Claimant’ is an 1892 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The story focuses on the class differences and expectations of monarchic, hierarchical Britain and the upstart, ‘
all men are created equal’ America. Twain wrote the novel with the help of phonographic dictation, the first author (according to Twain himself) to do so. This was also (according to Twain) an attempt to write a book without mention of the weather, the first of its kind in fictitious literature. Indeed, all the weather is contained in an appendix, at the back of the book, which the reader is encouraged to turn to from time to time.



‘The American Claimant’ is enormous fun. It is a comedy of mistaken identities and multiple role switches–fertile and familiar Mark Twain territory. A unique melange of science fiction and fantasy, romance, farce, and political satire, Twain’s least-known comic novel is both thought-provoking and entertaining.