Equal parts nostalgic, witty, self-serving, and frank, Connecticut Yankee is an entertaining and informative memoir of the state and a scholar who shaped it. Connecticut native, Yale graduate, Yale professor and dean, and finally, unlikely Governor of the State of Connecticut during the crucial Depression years, Wilbur L. Cross’ s autobiography tells a great American story. As a Yale professor, a writer, and an editor, Wilbur L. Cross devoted himself to the English language, and specifically to understanding how novels were capable of capturing the human condition. His autobiography, Connecticut Yankee is in many ways a novel itself. The protagonist is Cross and the plot is his education. Wilbur Lucius Cross was a most unlikely politician. A noted author and literary critic who had been a professor of English, editor of the Yale Review, and finally, Dean of the Yale Graduate School, his quiet character and almost poetic oration would seem at odds with the cut-throat world of state politics. But is was just this stoic demeanor and inquisitive intelligence, that would help him make a mark on Connecticut politics during his four terms of office, from 1931 to 1939. During his time as governor, he suffered the hardest years of the Depression and worked to implement President Roosevelt’s New Deal, fought for the abolition of child labor, instituted a minimum wage, improved working conditions in factories, and guided the state’s recovery from the devastation of the Great New England Hurricane. He also strove to reorganize the state government, and would help revitalize Connecticut’s Democratic Party, which had been torn by internal strife. Cross was an excellent writer, and here—updated with a new foreword by Yale Law School graduate and author Justin Zaremby—is his compelling account of life from a childhood in the bucolic town of Mansfield, through the hallowed halls of learning at Yale University, to the highest office in Connecticut.

The Yankee is a product of nineteenth-century America and detests the unfairness inherent in sixth-century institutions of inherited rank and social stratification. He blames the Catholic Church for providing justifications for social inequality, and he wants to destroy the Church's potential for abuse by breaking it into separate sects that people could join at will. The Yankee is an idealist and believes firmly in the power of technology to improve people's lives and bring about positive social change. In the end, though, as R. L. Fisher observes, the book loses its idealistic tone, and the promise of technology falls short of the Yankee's lofty goals: "For while it mocks the British monarchy, it also makes a mockery of Hank Morgan's hope that technology might further the moral improvement of humanity."

A Connecticut Yankee is Mark Twain’s most ambitious work, a tour de force with a science-fiction plot told in the racy slang of a Hartford workingman, sparkling with literary hijinks as well as social and political satire. Mark Twain characterized his novel as "one vast sardonic laugh at the trivialities, the servilities of our poor human race." The Yankee, suddenly transported from his native nineteenth-century America to the sleepy sixth-century Britain of King Arthur and the Round Table, vows brashly to "boss the whole country inside of three weeks." And so he does. Emerging as "The Boss," he embarks on an ambitious plan to modernize Camelot—with unexpected results.

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature. In CliffsNotes on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, you dig into Mark Twain's notably caustic account of a culture clash in medieval society. Transported back in time from the nineteenth century, the story's central character attempts to introduce "modern" changes to his new place in the sixth century. This study guide follows the action from chapter to chapter with commentaries that bring sense to the entertaining satire. Other features that help you figure out this important work include Life and background of the author Introduction to and synopsis of the book Summaries of each chapter within the work A review section that tests your knowledge and suggests essay topics Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.