Twain in his own time
Subtitle: a biographical chronicle of his life, drawn from recollections, interviews, and memoirs by family, friends, and associates
By: edited by Gary Scharnhorst
Series: Writers in their own time
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Iowa City
Language: eng
Format: Trade Paperback
Number of pages: 348
ISBN-13: 9781587299148; 9781587299513
Subjects: Friends and associates; American Authors; Biography
Description: Never one to suffer fools gladly, especially if they wore crinolines, Mark Twain lost as many friends as he made, and he targeted them all indiscriminately. The first major American writer born west of the Mississippi River, he enjoys a reputation unrivaled in American literary history, and from the beginning of his career he tried to control that reputation by fiercely protecting his public persona. Not a debunking account of Twain's life but immune from his relentless image making, this book offers an anecdotal version of Twain's life over which the master spin doctor had virtually no control. The ninety-four recollections gathered form an unsanitized, collaborative biography designed to provide a multitude of perspectives on the iconic author. Opening with an interview with his mother that has never been reprinted, it includes memoirs by his daughters and by men who knew him when he was roughing it in Nevada and California, an interview with the pilot who taught him to navigate the Mississippi River, reminiscences from his illustrators E.M. Kemble and Dan Beard and two of his so called adolescent angelfish, contributions from politicians and from such literary figures as Dan De Quille and George Bernard Shaw, and one of the most damning assessments of his character, by the author Frank Harris, ever published. Each entry is introduced by a brief explanation of its historical and cultural context; explanatory notes provide further information about people and places; and the introduction and chronology of Twain's eventful life are comprehensive and detailed. Dozens of primary sources published incrementally over more than eighty years, most recorded after his death, illustrate the complexities of this flamboyant, outspoken personality in a way that no single biographer could.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Mark Twain's Boyhood: an interview with Mrs. Jane Clemens --Mark Twain's childhood sweetheart recalls their romance / Laura Frazier -- Mark Twain as a cub pilot: a talk with Captain Horace Bixby / Homer Bassford -- Mark Twain / Grant Marsh -- Fitch recalls Mark Twain in bonanza times / Tom Fitch -- From As I remember them / C.C. Goodwin -- Jos. Goodman's memories of humorist's early days / Joseph T. Goodman -- In the heroic days / Arthur McEwen -- Salad days of Mark Twain / Dan De Quille -- From Archibald Henderson, Mark Twain / Dan De Quille -- Memories of Mark Twain / George E. Barnes -- Fitch recalls Mark Twain in bonanza times / Tom Fitch -- From Western Carpetbagger: The extraordinary memoirs of "Senator" Tom Fitch / Tom Fitch -- Mark Twain as he was known during his stay on the Pacific slope / George E. Barnes -- From memories of Mark Twain and Steve Gillis / William R. Gillis -- A morning with Bret Harte / Henry J.W. Dam -- Mark Twain as he was known during his stay on the Pacific slope / George E. Barnes -- Mark Twain incognito a reminiscence / Franklin H. Austin -- Mark Twain as he was known during his stay on the Pacific slope / George E. Barnes -- Fitch recalls Mark Twain in bonanza times / Tom Fitch -- Mark Twain as a lecturer / Edward H. House -- Mark Twain in California / Noah Brooks -- The cruise of the Quaker City -- / Mary Mason Fairbanks -- About Mark Twain -- From reminiscences of Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada / William M. Stewart -- Mark Twain in California / Noah Brooks -- Mark Twain / J.N. Lamed -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- Mark Twain in London / Moncure D. Conway -- From Autobiography / Moncure D. Conway -- In old Bohemia / Charles Warren Stoddard -- Mark Twain an intimate portrait / Henry Watterson -- From crowding memories / Lilian Aldrich -- From memories of a hostess: a chronicle of eminent friendships / Annie Adams Fields -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- From celebrities at home / Edmund Yates -- From the changing ream / Norman Hapgood -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- From contemporary portraits, fourth series / Frank Harris -- Mark Twain at 'Nook Farm' (Hartford) and Elmira / Charles H. Clark -- From my father Mark Twain / Clara Clemens -- From Samuel Langhorne Clemens / Jervis Langdon -- From I remember / J. Henry Harper -- Illustrating Huck Finn / E.W. Kemble -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- Mark Twain on the lecture platform / Will M. Clemens -- From Arlin Turner, Mark Twain and George W. Cable: the record of a literary friendship / George Washington Cable -- From papa: an intimate biography of Mark Twain / Susy Clemens -- From recollections of a varied life / George Cary Eggleston -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- From opinions of a cheerful Yankee / Irving Bacheller -- Memories of Mark Twain / Brander Matthews -- From hardly a man is now alive / Dan Beard -- From Daniel Frohman presents: an autobiography / Daniel Frohman -- From I remember / J. Henry Harper -- From hardly a man is now alive / Dan Beard -- From memories of a southern woman of letters / Grace King -- Mark Twain in clubland / William H. Rideing -- From eccentricities of genius / James B. Pond -- Mark Twain on the platform / R.C.B. -- From a woman's part in a revolution / Natalie Hammond -- From autobiography / John Hay Hammond -- From seventy summers / Poultney Bigelow -- Mark Twain as a newspaper reporter / Frank Marshall White -- Some reminiscences of Mark Twain / James Ross Clemens, M.D. -- From roadside meetings / Hamlin Garland -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- From a lifetime with Mark Twain: the memories of Katy Leary / Mary Lawton -- From a roving commission / Winston Churchill -- From autobiography of Andrew Carnegie / Andrew Carnegie -- From roses and buckshot / James Montgomery Flagg -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- From one afternoon with Mark Twain / George Ade -- From companions on the trail: a literary chronicle / Hamlin Garland -- Mark Twain: personal impressions / Henry M. Alden *From The changing years / Norman Hapgood -- Mark Twain from an Italian point of view / Raffaele Simboli -- Mark Twain on friends and fighters / Samuel P. Davis -- From hardly a man is now alive / Dan Beard -- Innocents at home / Albert Bigelow Paine -- From my Mark Twain / W.D. Howells -- From Mark Twain / Archibald Henderson and Joseph G. Cannon -- From Uncle Joe Cannon / L. White Busbey -- Mark Twain's exclusive publisher tells what the humorist is paid / James B. Morrow -- Letters to the editor / George Bernard Shaw -- Mark Twain, some personal reminiscences / Sir George Ian MacAlister -- E.V. Lucas and Twain at a 'punch dinner’ / E.V. Lucas -- A little girl's Mark Twain / Dorothy Quick -- From Mark Twain and the happy island / Elizabeth Wallace -- Mark Twain lands an angel fish / Dorothy Sturgis Harding -- Mark Twain at Stormfield / Albert Bigelow Paine -- From hardly a man is now alive / Dan Beard -- Mark Twain / Helen Keller -- Mark Twain as his secretary at Stormfield remembers him / Mary Louise Howden -- From My Mark Twain / W. D. Howells.