Mark Twain A-Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Writings (Literary a to Z's)
Amazingly a one-man work, this unobtrusively cross-referenced encyclopedia of Twainiana focuses not on the whys and hows but rather on the myriad whos, whats, and whens of Twain's life. From three lines to several pages, each detail-packed entry is a comprehensive piece of a prodigious life. Readers who want to know the origin of the term blatherskite (and precisely where Twain uses it in his fiction) or need a synopsis of every chapter in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (and its background and publication history) will find it here. Twain's literary characters, every fiction large and small, childhood friends in Hannibal, adult business associates, riverboats Twain piloted, inventions he tinkered with-all are covered. A fascinating and unique volume recommended for every library with a Twain collection. [The publisher also offers other "A to Z" encyclopedias on literary figures, most recently James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.-Ed.]-Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada, Mo.--Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada, Mo.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.