Mark Twain
Subtitle: a study of the short fiction
By: Tom Quirk.
Series: Twayne's studies in short fiction ;; no. 66
Publisher: Twayne Publishers
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 232
Subjects: Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 -- Criticism and interpretation.; Short story.
Description: Tom Quirk's study provides a comprehensive analysis of the comic genius and narrative originality that makes Mark Twain's short fiction a cornerstone of the American literary tradition. Quirk's presentation of Twain's career as a writer of short fiction is complemented with selections of Twain's essays rounds out this balanced and informative work.

Quirk's aim in Mark Twain: A Study of the Short Fiction is to provide a "descriptive account of Twain's imaginative energies and his literary development as they are revealed in his short fiction." His selections of Twain's writing provide excellent examples of the literary energy that Quirk so vividly describes.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-221) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: PART 1. THE SHORT FICTION; title: Introduction 3; title: The Early Years, 1863-1873:; title: Oral Tradition and the Individual Talent 20; title: The Middle Years, 1874-1890:; title: Literary Respectability and Social Responsibility 56; title: The Late Years, 1891-1910:; title: False Starts and Flights of Fancy 86; title: PART 2. THE WRITER; title: Introduction 129; title: Report to the Buffalo Female Academy 132; title: Reply to the Editor of "The Art of Authorship" 136; title: Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences 138; title: How to Tell a Story 150; title: William Dean Howells 155; title: PART 3. THE CRITICS; title: Introduction 165; title: William Dean Howells 167; title: Louis J. Budd 170; title: Don Florence 177; title: Walter Blair 184; title: Gregg Camfield 202; title: Susan K. Harris 208.