Book Description

"The Stolen White Elephant" is a short story written by Mark Twain and published in 1882 by James R. Osgood. In this detective mystery, a Siamese white elephant, en route from Siam to Britain as a gift to the Queen, disappears in New Jersey. The local police department goes into high gear to solve the mystery but it all comes to a tragic end. The main characters of the story include: Mark Twain, who functions as the initial speaker and author of the story. An elderly gentleman, an Englishman in the British civil service in India, who told the story to Twain during a train ride and is in charge of transporting the white elephant. Chief Inspector Blunt, a detective who is in charge of finding the lost elephant; he first receives the report of the elephant's disappearance. "Hassan Ben Ali Ben Selim Abdallah Mohammed Moise Alhammal Jamsetjejeebhoy Dhuleep Sultan Ebu Bhudpoor" or "Jumbo," the white elephant Alaric, a young worker at the detectives' office. Captain Burns, another employee of the detectives' office; he is in charge of carrying out Inspector Blunt's orders. The Queen of England plays a non-speaking role. The King of Siam plays a non-speaking role. Also, a number of other detectives, servants and civilians play minor roles in the story.