Mark Twain, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884)

A classic work of American fiction, by an author of universal repute.

There really isn't much that I can add to the volumes of analysis that have been offered on this. It remains an enjoyable read over a century later. Racial characterizations of African-Americans - particularly Huck's compadre, Jim* - contrast significantly with contemporary values.

As a copyright-expired text, the full version is available through a number of online sources, such as Archive.org.

The Eric Kemble illustrations for the 1884/1885 edition are available via the University of Virginia.

* When I was about 7 years old, my public school performed Huckleberry Finn as our major play for the year. Despite having no African heritage (or at least not for centuries), I was cast as Jim - in full brown grease paint from head to toe - and I don't recall anyone raising a concern at all. Of course, our school community housed only a single child of what I presume was Caribbean heritage.