The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884)

This novel about a runaway boy and his companion, an escaped slave who raft down the Mississippi River, has been controversial for several reasons since its publication in 1884. The censorship controversy at the heart of The Day They Came to Arrest the Book centers around this novel.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on SuperSummary

The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain (1894)

Twain’s humorous story of a white infant swapped at birth with a biracial child in the pre-Civil War South. Like Huckleberry Finn, this satirical novel covers themes of racial and social identity and reflects Twain’s commentary on class structures.

• The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson on SuperSummary

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Originally published in 1953, this is Bradbury’s dystopian fantasy about a world where books are prohibited and reading them is a crime. The premise of extreme literary censorship Fahrenheit 451 resonates with the characters in The Day They Came to Arrest the Book; Luke directly references it within the story.

• Fahrenheit 451 on SuperSummary