Trouble arises when the Duke of Frognal, who had been unceremoniously evicted from the suite Adams now occupies, hides the note as a joke. Hastings tells Adams that he does not have to put up any money himself the mere association will allow Hastings to raise the money that he needs to develop his gold mine by selling shares. Then fellow American Lloyd Hastings asks him to back a business venture. He becomes very friendly with Portia Lansdowne, the niece of the Duchess of Cromarty.

Adams is welcomed into exclusive social circles, meeting the American ambassador and English aristocracy. The story of the note is reported in the newspapers. Adams is mistaken for an eccentric millionaire and has no trouble getting food, clothes, and a hotel suite on credit, just by showing his note. He then finds a letter in the envelope, explaining the wager and promising him a job if he can avoid spending the note for the month.Īt first, everything goes as Oliver had predicted.

Once Adams gets over the shock of discovering how much the note is worth, he tries to return it to the brothers, but is told that they have left for a month. Oliver asserts that the mere existence of the note will enable the possessor to obtain whatever he needs, while Roderick insists that it would have to be spent for it to be of any use. They persuade the Bank of England to issue a one million pound banknote, which they present to Adams in an envelope, only telling him that it contains some money. In 1903, American seaman Henry Adams is stranded penniless in Britain and gets caught up in an unusual wager between two wealthy, eccentric brothers, Oliver and Roderick Montpelier.

The million dollar bank note mark twain