What Mark Twain short story is set in the fictional town of Hadleyburg?

What Mark Twain short story is set in the fictional town of Hadleyburg? The answer is “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.”

Mark Twain’s 1899 satirical novella centers on Hadleyburg, a town famous for its supposed incorruptibility. A mysterious stranger, angered by an earlier insult, devises a revenge scheme involving a sack of gold and a secret message about an act of kindness. The town’s leading citizens are tempted to claim a reward that was not theirs.

The story exposes the difference between public reputation and private character. At a town meeting, nineteen prominent couples make false claims, and their dishonesty is revealed. Twain’s satire suggests that a morality never tested by temptation may be less secure than it appears.

Readers sometimes confuse it with Twain’s other titles, including “The $30,000 Bequest” and “The Stolen White Elephant.” Hadleyburg is fictional, and the story first appeared in Harper’s Monthly in December 1899 before being collected in book form in 1900.