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An Accident of Births

On the same day in 1537, so the story goes, two baby boys were born, but the similarity between them ended there.

November 10

An Accident of Births
By Mark Twain

On the same day in 1537, so the story goes, two baby boys were born, but the similarity between them ended there.

In 1527, courtiers began to whisper of Henry VIII’s rising obsession with finding a male heir, calling it the King’s ‘Great Matter’. After Queen Catherine had been put away, and Queen Anne had been beheaded, his prayers were answered when in 1537, Queen Jane bore him a son, Prince Edward. It was against this historical background that Mark Twain opened the tale of The Prince and the Pauper, published in 1881.

Posted November 10 2024

Read

Jigsaws: Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can. See if you can include any of the words in square brackets.

The King wanted a son. Prince Edward was born. The country felt relieved. [Grant. Long. When.]

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Picture: Attributed to William Scrots (fl. 1537-1553), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.. Source.

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