Mark Twain (1835-1910) was the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who was born in Missouri, USA. His most famous novels Tom Sawyer and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), are both based on his boyhood memories of Hannibal, the town on the Mississippi where he grew up. Twain worked variously as a printer, journalist, gold prospector and steam-boat pilot. He wrote a number of other books for children, including A Yankee in King Arthur's Court and The Prince and the Pauper. Claire Fletcher studied at the Royal College of Art before embarking on a successful career as a designer and illustrator. She has illustrated a number of children's titles, including The Sea Shell Song, for which she won the Mother Goose Award, and The Snow Angel (both Random House).