Mark Twain's The Stolen White Elephant - Free Release Through The Classic Tales Podcast
Cover from the first edition This week, we lampoon detectives the world over with " The Stolen White Elephant ," by Mark Twain! This story was written in 1882, a time when detective stories were all the rage (think Edgar Allan Poe's " The Murders in the Rue Morgue "). Mark Twain never missed an opportunity to poke fun at anything or anyone. B.J. Harrison has been thinking about producing this story for about three years. I take full credit (not really) for nudging him on a recent facebook post. The story is about a white elephant meant as a gift to the Queen of England from the Emperor of India. Somehow, this animal, we'll call him Jumbo for the sake of brevity, disappears somewhere in New Jersey, and hilarity ensues. Does this sound silly? That's because this story is a farce, a light dramatic work in which highly improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and often slapstick elements are used for humorous effect .* In thes...