The complex and fascinating life of Mark Twain, as told by a Pulitzer
prizewinning biographer
Born in 1835, the man who would become America’s first, and most
influential, literary celebrity spent his childhood dreaming of
piloting steamboats on the Mississippi. But when the Civil War
interrupted his career on the river, the young Mark Twain went west and
accepted a job at the local newspaper, writing dispatches that
attracted attention for their brashness and humour. It wasn’t long
until the former steamboat pilot from Missouri was recognized across
the country for his literary brilliance.
In this rich and nuanced portrait of Twain, Ron Chernow brings his
powers to bear on a man who shamelessly sought fame and fortune, and
crafted his persona with meticulous care. After establishing himself as
a journalist, satirist, and performer, and a family man, Twain went on
to write The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn. He threw himself into the epicentre of American culture, emerging
as the nation’s most notable political pundit and the only white author
of his generation to grapple so fully with the legacy of slavery. At
the same time, his madcap business ventures eventually bankrupted him
and led him and his family to nine years of exile between London,
France, Germany and Italy. During this time, he lost his wife and two
daughters – the last stage of his life marked by heartache, political
crusades, and eccentric behaviour that sometimes obscured darker forces
at play.
Drawing on Twain’s bountiful archives, including thousands of letters
and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, Chernow here captures the
magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original
characters in literary history, reminding us why Twain’s writing
continues to be read, debated and quoted over a hundred years after his
passing..
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