On Feb. 15, 1885, 140 years ago next week, Mark Twain’s best work of fiction, “Huckleberry Finn,” was first published in the United States. Critics berated the book. In Concord, Massachusetts, ...

Illustration by E. W. Kemble, from first edition of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' 1884. [Editor’s Note, introducing the scene: Halfway through their trip down the river in The Adventures of ...