A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur

Published in 1889 by Charles L Webster, A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur was Twain's fifth novel and perhaps the strangest. The plot is confusingly introduced but details the actions of a man called Hank who is sent back in time to early sixth century Britain where he becomes involved in King Arthur's affairs. By dint of his nineteenth century knowledge, the man is able quickly become a powerful influence on Arthur and his court. Twain's novel is often credited with being either the first, or else amongst the first, science fiction stories. The notion that it involves time travel as opposed to imagined time travel is less important than its explorations of what such an activity might entail and what might be possible given superior knowledge. However, it's safe to say that this wasn't Twain's intention, rather it was his purpose to ridicule notions of chivalry as he'd witnessed them during the Civil War.