Master wit Tag Twain selected these twenty-seven tales himself by 15 of his favorite nineteenth century authors. The order follows whatever Twain positioned them in in the initial anthology, released in 1888. He indulged his comic fancy rather than making a textbook where all designs or authors are placed together, stating that “In this manner, you will need to peruse the whole lot before discovering that one of your favorites is not included.” Nevertheless, it really is no joke these are the writers represented: Charles Dudley Warner, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Eugene Field, William D. Howells, Adam M. Bailey, Joel Chandler Harris, Katherine Kent Kid Walker, Robert J. Burdette, Sam Davis, Artemus Ward, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Francis Lee Pratt, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Frederick W. Cozzens, and Twain himself.