Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review PDF
Preview Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review
Mark Twain's Own Autobiography Mark Twain in Dublin, New Hampshire, 1906. (Courtesy of the Mark Twain Memorial, Hartford, Conn.) CMaTkcrwains OWN AurOBIOGRAPHY The Chapters from the North American Review Edited by J. Michael Kiskis Second edition The University of Wisconsin Press WISCONSIN STUDIES IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY William L. Andrews, General Editor The University of Wisconsin Press 1930 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor Madison, Wisconsin 53711-2059 uwpress.wisc.edu 3 Henrietta Street London WC2E 8LU, England eurospanbookstore.com Copyright © 1990,2010 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without written permission of the University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quota tions embedded in critical articles and reviews. 54321 Printed in the United States of America All previously unpublished words by Mark Twain quoted in this book are © 1990 by Ed ward J. Willi and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company as Trustees of the Mark Twain Foundation, which reserves all reproduction or dramatization rights in every medium. They are published here with the permission of the University of California Press and Robert H. Hirst, General Editor of the Mark Twain Project at the University of California, Berkeley. All citations of such material are identified by the following symbol: t Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. [Autobiography] Mark Twain's own autobiography: the chapters from the North American review / edited by Michael J. Kiskis.-2nd ed. p. cm.-(Wisconsin studies in autobiography) First published in book form under title: Mark Twain's autobiography. 1924. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-299-23474-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)-ISBN 978-0-299-23473-7 (e-book) 1. Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.2. Authors, American-19th century-Biography. 3. Humorists, American-19th century-Biography. I. Kiskis, Michael J. II. Title. III. Series: Wisconsin studies in autobiography. PSI331.A2 2009b 818' .409-dc22 [B] 2009010516 For James Martine and John Gerber Acknowledgments I began reading and writing about Samuel Clemens almost thirty years ago while a graduate student at the State University of New York at Albany. I studied with John Gerber. When John died, I managed to obtain a vintage poster of Mark Twain that hung in John's office-it's a distinctive pencil drawing with a detailed face and eyes. It now hangs over my desk, a daily reminder of my beginnings with Mark Twain that resonates with the debt I owe to those whose work I have come to respect and admire. There have been a few score of others who have helped me with their advice, guidance, and friendship. Decades in the vineyard of Twain studies is a long, long time. I have been able to keep my head in the work because of the people laboring along with me. There are too many for a brief para graph, though let me mention a few: my thanks especially to Laura Skandera Trombley, Gary Scharnhorst, Ann Ryan, Kerry Driscoll, Tom Quirk, Dennis Eddings, and David E. E. Sloane. In Elmira I want to thank Barb Snedecor who has given me opportunities to expand my thinking and Mark Woodhouse and Charlie Mitchell for their steadfast humor and good company. I treasure all of you. This second edition would not be if not for the interest of Sheila Leary, the director of the University of Wisconsin Press. We had lunch several years ago, and our conversation prompted this new edition. We met at a small bed and breakfast in Elmira, New York, called The Painted Lady. Sam Clemens would like that (it has a particularly striking billiard room). I suspect that Katy Leary, too, would smile. Bill Andrews, the general editor of the Wiscon sin Studies in Autobiography series, was again supportive, and I appreciate his continued thoughtfulness. I thank my wife Ann Cady. The "Livy" to my "Sam," Ann has been a part ner in this work and has been patient with me as I grumbled my way through vii viii Acknowledgments it. I became interested in questions of domesticity and Sam Clemens some years ago. Ann has helped me become more conscious of what "home" means not only to the depth and resilience of scholarly work but also, and more importantly, to the stability and peace of everyday life. Bless her, she keeps me humble-and warm. No mean feat. Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations xiii Foreword to the Second Edition xv Introduction to the Second Edition xix CHAPTER I 3 Introduction to method and form - Clemens family ancestry CHAPTER II 12 Early literary career-"Jumping Frog"-The Innocents Abroad Playing "Bear"-Louis Stevenson - Mark Twain letter sold CHAPTER III 23 Meets Olivia Langdon - Thirty-sixth wedding anniversary Marriage and move to Buffalo - Susy's death - Susy as a child CHAPTER IV 35 Susy's biography-Reviewers and reviews-The Gilded Age Mark 1Wain's dullness and temper-Cats-Language-Talk CHAPTER V 46 Language and temper-Susy on The Prince and the Pauper- The family editing of manuscripts-Mark 1Wain's early life in Hannibal Cats - Church - Tom Nash and the Mississippi CHAPTER VI 56 Susy's biography-Mark Twain's visit to U. S. Grant-John Hay A Visit to Vassar College-Langdon's death-England trip ix
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