The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg » (New Edition)

Riverboat pilot, journalist, failed businessman (several times over): Samuel Clemens -- the man behind the figure of Mark Twain -- led many lives. But it was in his novels and short stories that he created a voice and an outlook on life that will be forever identified with the American character.

Very much revealing Twain's dour side, this short story satirizes the pomposity of small town virtues that really aren't what they seem. A stranger sets out to ruin Hadleyburg's reputation as "the most honest and upright town in all the region." His scheme involves a fake bag of gold coins and notes that lure leading townsmen into greed - and eventual public ridicule.