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The Prince and the Pauper has 34 chapters.
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Chapters34 items
The birth of the Prince and the Pauper
Two boys are born in London on the same day in the sixteenth century. One, Edward Tudor, arrives to a royal family that has longed for an heir, and the whole country celebrates.
Tom's early life
The story moves to Tom's childhood in Offal Court. His father John Canty is a violent thief and drunk, and Tom is forced to beg.
Tom's meeting with the Prince
Tom wanders to Westminster and gets to the palace gates, where a guard roughly pushes him away. Prince Edward sees this, scolds the guard, and brings Tom inside.
The Prince's troubles begin
Edward, in Tom's rags, is thrown out of the palace gates by the guard and mocked by a crowd when he claims to be the prince.
Tom as a patrician
Left alone in the palace, Tom realizes Edward has not come back and is stunned by his surroundings. He is treated as the prince, and the court assumes the prince's odd behavior co…
Tom receives instructions
Tom, still stuck in the prince's role, is coached by the court on how to behave. Lord Hertford and Lord St.
Tom's first royal dinner
Tom is escorted to dinner and meets the absurd ceremony around royal eating, where a crowd of officials performs each small task.
The question of the Seal
The Lord Chancellor asks for the Great Seal of England, which the real prince supposedly hid before the king's illness.
The river pageant
Tom is carried in a huge river procession in London, with boats, music and crowds. He is treated as the prince and receives the city's praise, while he still fears being found out.
The Prince in the toils
The real prince, Edward, is thrown out of the palace gate and mocked by a crowd, then rescued from a mob by a rough man named Miles Hendon.
At Guildhall
Edward, dragged along by John Canty, is swept into the crowd heading for the Lord Mayor's feast at Guildhall. Canty keeps hold of him and still insists he is his son.
The Prince and his deliverer
Miles Hendon, a soldier returning home after years abroad, rescues Edward from Canty and the mob. He takes the boy to his room at an inn and feeds him.
The disappearance of the Prince
Edward falls asleep at the inn and Miles goes out to get clothes for him. While Miles is away, a boy delivers a message pretending Miles has sent for Edward, and Edward follows hi…
Le roi est mort—vive le roi
The scene returns to the palace. Henry VIII has died, though Tom does not yet know it.
Tom as King
Tom starts to learn what ruling involves. He deals with councils, ceremony, and state decisions, and he leans on Hertford for guidance.
The state dinner
Tom eats his first formal royal dinner and the ritual around it is absurd: nobles kneel, officials pass each dish along, and every move has a rule.
Foo-foo the First
Miles Hendon, still protecting the boy he thinks is a delusional child, sets off with him toward Hendon Hall, though the boy's royal claims keep surprising him.
The Prince with the tramps
The prince falls in with a band of thieves and beggars led by Hugo and the Ruffler. They treat his royal claims as a joke, and he must live as one of them, sharing their camp and…
The Prince with the peasants
The prince escapes the gang and takes shelter with a farm family, where he is treated kindly but is mistaken for a madman because of his royal talk.
The Prince and the hermit
The prince meets a hermit who claims to be an archangel and holds him captive. The hermit says the king destroyed his monastery and means harm, so the boy faces a new danger.
Hendon to the rescue
Edward, still taken for a mad boy, is jostled by a London crowd after he refuses to act like a commoner. Miles Hendon steps in, faces down the mob, and takes the boy under his pro…
A victim of treachery
Hendon takes Edward to his room at an inn and feeds him. Edward falls asleep in Hendon's bed, and Hendon makes do on the floor.
The Prince a prisoner
Edward is led away by the stranger and ends up back with the criminal gang, whose leader is the man claiming to be John Canty, Tom's father.
The escape
Edward gets a chance to get away from Canty and the gang, helped by circumstances in the confusion of the night. He flees and ends up in the countryside, sheltering with some kind…
Hendon Hall
Hendon, having found Edward again, travels with him toward his family home, Hendon Hall, in Kent. Hendon expects a warm welcome from his father and brother Arthur and the woman he…
Disowned
Edward, still taken for a madman, is dragged along by Miles toward Hendon Hall. Miles expects a warm welcome from his father and brother Arthur.
In prison
Miles is arrested as an impostor and thrown into jail with Edward. Edward sees English prisons and their cruelty up close, including people locked up for small offenses and harshl…
The sacrifice
In jail, Edward sees Miles about to be punished for something Edward did. Miles steps in and takes a whipping meant for the boy, and he does it without complaint.
To London
Miles and Edward are freed and head for London. Miles plans to look after the boy and find some way to settle him.
Tom's progress
The story returns to Tom, who has been living as king. He has grown more comfortable with court life and learned to handle ceremony and decisions.
The Recognition Procession
Tom rides through London in the royal procession, enjoying the cheers while dreading the day he will be found out. In the crowd he spots the woman who claimed him as her son and s…
Coronation Day
At Westminster Abbey, Tom is about to be crowned when Edward, in rags, bursts in and demands the crown be stopped. The court tries to throw him out, but Edward proves his claim by…
Edward as King
Edward is crowned and the boys explain their adventures. Miles Hendon is brought forward and rewarded with an earldom and the right to sit in the king's presence.
Conclusion: Justice and Retribution
The narrator wraps up the loose ends. Hugo is dealt with, the cruel are punished and the kind are rewarded.
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