''Luck'' is an 1886

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by Mark Twain which was first published in 1891 in '' Harper's Magazine''. It was subsequently reprinted in 1892 in the anthology '' Merry Tales''; the first British publication was in 1900, in the collection ''

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" is a piece of short fiction by Mark Twain. It first appeared in ''Harper's Monthly'' in December 1899, and was subsequently published by Harper & Brothers in the collection ''The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg ...

''. It is one of Twain's more neglected stories, and received little critical attention upon its publication.

Plot summary

The story concerns a decorated

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

military hero, Lord Arthur Scoresby, a total idiot who triumphs in life through good luck. At the time of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

Scoresby is a captain. Despite his complete incompetence, everyone misinterprets his performance, taking his blunders for military genius, and his reputation is enhanced with every false step he makes. At the climax of the story, Scoresby mistakes his right hand for his left and leads a charge in the wrong direction, surprising a Russian force which panics and causes a retreat of the Russian army, thus securing an Allied victory. Another interpretation of the story is that the Reverend is simply jealous of the successes Scoresby has achieved. The Reverend, in the past, was an instructor at a military academy, where he taught a young Scoresby. According to the Reverend, Scoresby was a poor student, and "blundered" his way through promotions. When the war began, the Reverend joined the conflict, but with a lower rank of his ex-student. Throughout the story one can see that the Reverend is bitter, and his apparent distaste for the lord seems at odds with his role as a clergyman. The "absolute fool" in the story is not Scoresby, who ascended the ranks of the military through action, but rather the Reverend, who cannot accomplish anything in his lifetime. He also wrote something above the paper. e wrote "this is not a fancy sketch. I got it from a clergyman who was an instructor at the Woolwich Military school forty years ago, and who vouched for its truth."—M.T.

Notes on the story

* The story is said by some to be based on a real person; Twain himself writes in a footnote to the story that it was "not a fancy sketch"; i.e., not a work of fancy or imagination. Twain had heard the story from his old friend and confidant

Joseph Twichell Reverend Joseph Hopkins Twichell (November 30, 1838 – December 20, 1918) was a writer and Congregational minister from Hartford, Connecticut. He was a close friend of writer Mark Twain for over forty years and is believed to be the model for th ...

(who appears in ''

A Tramp Abroad ''A Tramp Abroad'' is a work of travel literature, including a mixture of autobiography and fictional events, by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character created ...

'' as "Harris"), who was visited by a British chaplain who told him the tale of a famous general whose victories were entirely due to luck. However, Twain's footnote states that the story was related to him by an instructor at

Woolwich Academy The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. One candidate for the famous soldier is Sir

Garnet Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, W ...

. For other possible candidates who did not participate in the Crimean War, see http://www.victorianweb.org/history/crimea/beck/1.html The Victorian Web. 2005-08-15. * Another possible candidate is

James Yorke Scarlett General Sir James Yorke Scarlett (1 February 1799 – 6 December 1871) was a British Army officer and hero of the Crimean War who led the Charge of the Heavy Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854. Early life The second son o ...

as the details of the Crimean War battle strongly match those of the Charge of the Heavy Brigade in the Battle of Balaclava.

References

External links

*Stephen Railton'
Mark Twain in His Times
project
Mark Twain Boyhood Home & MuseumLuck by Mark Twain
* {{Twain Short stories by Mark Twain 1886 short stories Works originally published in Harper's Magazine

Plot summary

Notes on the story

See also

References

External links