Published in 1869, The Innocents Abroad recounts Mark Twain’s journey aboard the steamship Quaker City in 1867. Travelling with a group of American tourists, he visits European cities, Mediterranean ports and sites in the Holy Land. His account describes museums, monuments, churches, historic ruins and everyday encounters, often contrasting familiar guidebook descriptions with what he sees himself. The travellers’ reactions become part of the narrative, exposing misunderstandings, inflated expectations and differences in custom.

Twain uses humour and exaggeration to question the authority of guides, romantic accounts of the past and the behaviour of tourists. He is particularly sceptical of claims surrounding religious relics and celebrated works of art, while sometimes reflecting the prejudices of his own period. The book combines travel observations with comic episodes and social commentary, challenging idealised portrayals of European civilisation and religious history. It also documents the growing popularity of organised international tourism among Americans during the nineteenth century.