The American Claimant

" '...and a manner so peculiar and romantic, and extraneous, and ad libitum, and heart-searching, that- that- he- he is an impressionist, I presume?' 'No,' said the captain simply, 'he is a Presbyterian.' " -Mark Twain, The American Claimant (1892) The American Claimant (1881), by Mark Twain, is a humorous book about mistaken identities. The main characters are Colonel Mulberry Sellers, an eccentric American claimant to the Earldom of Rossmore in England, and Berkeley Rossmore, heir of the Earl of Rossmore, who is captivated by American democracy. This replica of the original edition of The American Claimant, containing 23 illustrations by well-known American illustrator Daniel Beard, is a pleasure to read.