If they subscribed, Twain's books were delivered right to their homes. His language appealed to them. Mark Twain was considered a great literary force by 1905. His name was a household word. In 1935, Ernest Hemmingway paid Twain the greatest compliment a writer could ever receive.
All American writing comes from that.
There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since. Hemmingway was a wise man. Huckleberry Finn, banned so quickly in 1885 and so controversial today, transformed American literature. The next time you want to keep a book out of a public library or the classroom, think carefully, for I agree with Mark Twain.