"Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World" by Mark Twain is a travelogue published in 1897. Facing bankruptcy after a failed business investment, the sixty-year-old Twain embarked on a lecture tour across the British Empire to escape $100,000 in debt. This non-fiction work chronicles his journey, blending perceptive observations about cultures, politics, religion, and customs with characteristic social commentary and satire. Notably, Twain weaves fictional stories into this otherwise factual account of his global adventure.