Being from the Elmira, New York area... we are famous in the fact that Mark Twain lived here during the summers at Quarry Farm and wrote some of his most famous pieces while vacationing on the Chemung River.
Reading Mark Twain, in today's world - like many other classics - is challenging in and of itself. With the word usage and language of the times - not really gelling with our word usage and language... it can be a bit troublesome.
What I enjoyed about the books was their charming qualities (I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Prince and The Pauper)... but... I also wondered how much students are able to get from the books when reading on their own without any guidance regarding the time period in which the tales were composed.
