num_pages: 523
description: Bringing together 38 tales and sketches, The $30,000 Bequest provides a rare long view of Twain's work, covering virtually his entire career, from "Advice to Young Girls" (a spoof that appeared in 1865, just months before he achieved national acclaim for his "Jumping Frog" tale), to the title story, written in 1904. Whether he is probing the dynamics of a marriage in "The $30,000 Bequest," or tapping into the nature of hierarchies of abusive power in "A Dog's Tale," Twain's deft craftsmanship brings energy and life to his prose. The more preposterous his claim, the more diligent his proof--as in "The Danger of Lying in Bed," in which Twain argues--complete with statistics--that lying in bed (where most deaths occur) is more dangerous than traveling. The pieces collected here--alternately playful, poignant, and powerful--are all shaped by Twain's rich and unpredictable imagination. This book, the last miscellany published in his lifetime, captures the many facets of Mark Twain's work.Stories included: "The $30,000 Bequest" "A Dog's Tale" "Was It Heaven? Or Hell?" "A Cure for the Blues" "The Enemy Conquered; or, Love Triumphant" "The Californian's Tale" "A Helpless Situation" "A Telephonic Conversation" "Edward Mills and George Benton: A Tale" "The Five Boons of Life" "The First Writing Machines" "Italian Without a Master" "Italian With Grammar" "A Burlesque Biography" "How To Tell A Story" "General Washington's Negro Body-Servant" "Wit Inspirations of the "Two Year-Olds"" "An Entertaining Article" "A Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury" "Amended Obituaries" "A Monument to Adam" "A Humane Word from Satan" "Introduction to "The New Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English"" "Advice to Little Girls" "Post-Mortem Poetry" "The Danger of Lying in Bed" "Portrait of King William III" "Does the Race of Man Love a Lord?" "Extracts from Adam's Diary" "Eve's Diary"
language: English
title: The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories
titlecomplete: The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories
genres: Fiction, American, Short Stories, Collections, Anthologies, Humor, Literature, Classics, 19th Century, 20th Century
ratings_count: 572
publisher: Oxford University Press