The Critical Reception: Contemporary Newspaper, Magazine Reviews

Scholar Victor Fischer uncovered dozens of previously unknown early reviews of "Huckleberry Finn" through exhaustive research of nineteenth-century newspapers and magazines. Using citations from his 1983 study of the book's early reception, I have tracked down and transcribed many of those reviews. Some are extensive reviews; others, comments on "Huck" included in reports or reactions to the Concord Free Public Library's decision to ban the book from its shelves. Reviews and reactions are grouped into: positive reviews; negative reviews; ban-inspired positive commentaries; ban-inspired negative commentaries; and neutral reports of the ban. Also available: an early newspaper account of the obscene engraving that showed up in the sales prospectuses; and Twain's response to thse Concord Free Trade Club's nomination of him as an honorary member, an attempt perhaps to make up for the hard feelings created by the ban.

Fischer's article, "Huck Finn Reviewed: The Reception of Huckleberry Finn in the United States, 1885-1897," can be found in American Literary Realism, XVI:1 (Spring 1983) 1-57.

Positive Reviews

Negative Reviews

Concord Ban Reports: Opposing "Huck"

Concord Ban Reports: Supporting "Huck"

Concord Ban: Neutral Accounts

Trade Club Nomination and Response

The Obscene Engraving: A Contemporary Account