“What I realized while rereading Twain’s novel and working on this book is that the state of mankind has progressed very little in the past thirteen centuries --- and since Twain’s time, hardly at all,” Seymour Chwast writes in the introduction to his excellent graphic adaptation of A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT --- and then he spends the next 140 pages illustrating why. Twain has left Chwast a rich tapestry to work with in this delightful, comedic (yet also dramatic) classic, and Chwast takes advantage of it all.

In the story, a first narrator (Twain himself) meets a strange man, Hank Morgan, who has a journal detailing his travels through time back to Medieval England. It’s a dark, brutal, dangerous time, but luckily, Morgan has modern insights and developments on his side. Correctly predicting a solar eclipse, he promises, “the light from the sun will go out and never return” if he is burned at the stake. When he is spared --- and the eclipse “magically" ends --- Morgan is saved and kept as the king’s second in command. From there, adventures and life events spring forth at rapid speed. King Arthur, Morgan le Fay, Merlin, and more familiar characters cross paths with Morgan, while Morgan deals with (and makes wry commentary on) Medieval viewpoints and beliefs.

While this is a lovely introduction and companion to Twain’s work and is suitable to all ages, the book will most likely appeal to older readers (probably ones who have already read Twain’s original). Twain’s story loses none of its bite, nor its wit, in this adaptation. It’s beautifully done and well worth reading, whether or not you’re familiar with Twain’s original.