Short answers, pulled from the story.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. The full UK and Canada release date was the 10th of December 1884, with the American edition following on the 18th of February 1885. Mark Twain composed the story in pen on notepaper between 1876 and 1883.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by American author Mark Twain. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old who is a friend of Tom Sawyer. The novel is the direct sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was banned at first for what critics called its coarseness, with the Concord Public Library in Massachusetts excluding it in the 1880s as "rough, coarse, and inelegant." Brooklyn Public Library banned it in 1905 over "bad word choice." Later challenges focused on its frequent use of the racial slur "nigger," and it was the fifth-most frequently challenged book in the United States during the 1990s.
Scholars are divided on whether Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is racist or anti-racist. Many argue it attacks racism by humanizing Jim and exposing the fallacies of slavery, while others, including Professor Stephen Railton, contend it relies on minstrel-show stereotypes in its depiction of Jim. The book is also read as Huck's coming-of-age story, in which he overcomes his biases and forms a deeper bond with Jim.
Ernest Hemingway declared that "All modern American literature comes from" Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and hailed it as "the best book we've had." He also warned readers to stop where Jim is stolen from the boys, calling that the real end and dismissing the rest as "just cheating." Ralph Ellison disagreed, arguing the final rescue gives the novel its significance.
Mark Twain donated the manuscript of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the Buffalo Public Library in 1885 after curator James Fraser Gluck asked for it. Half the pages were thought lost, but the missing first half turned up in 1991 in a steamer trunk owned by Gluck's descendants. The library claimed possession and opened the Mark Twain Room in 1994 to display it.