What century is the setting for Mark Twain's novel 'The Prince and the Pauper'?

'The Prince and the Pauper' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, it tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII.

While written for children, The Prince and the Pauper is both a critique of social inequality and a criticism of judging others by their appearance. Twain wrote of the book, "My idea is to afford a realizing sense of the exceeding severity of the laws of that day by inflicting some of their penalties upon the King himself and allowing him a chance to see the rest of them applied to others..."

'The Prince and the Pauper' was adapted for the stage during Twain's lifetime, an adaptation which involved Twain in litigation with the playwright. Some 30 years later, the play opened on Broadway in 1920 under the direction of William Faversham, with Ruth Findlay playing both Tom Canty and Prince Edward.