"The air was balmy and delicious, the sunshine radiant; it was a charming excursion. In the course of it we came to a town whose odd name was famous all over the world a quarter of a century ago – Wagga-Wagga." (Mark Twain)

At the height of his fame, Mark Twain, the writer and humorist from Missouri, was facing financial ruin from one of his failed business ventures. Broke but much-loved, he embarked on a lecture tour around the equator, making a stop in Australia.

The Wayward Tourist republishes Mark Twain's Australian travel writing in which he recounts his impressions of Sydney ("God made the Harbor... But Satan made Sydney") and his view of Australian history ("[it reads] like the most beautiful lies"), with much lamenting about his carbuncle.