The Singular Mark Twain: A Biography

The Singular Mark Twain: A Biography

ReviewThe clearest, most comprehensive portrait yet. . . . It is almost unprecedented for a truly definitive biography of a writer of Mark Twains stature to appear after so many years, but here it is. -The Philadelphia InquirerA singularly excellent biography. -The New York SunA real contribution to what we know of the writer who made the American language safe for literature. . . . A great glory of information. -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Singular Twainis doubly good reading. -Fort Worth Star-TelegramAn even-handed narrative, fully aware of all the biographical and critical currents at work . . . but owing allegiance to no particular theoretical or psychological school of criticism. -Richmond Times-DispatchA delightful read and a storehouse of information and ideas that will be consulted for generations. -Portland Sunday TelegramRefreshing. . . . Full of new material. -St. Louis Post-DispatchLively. . . . Clemens feels whole because Kaplan takes the time to show him in so many different settings and situations. -The OregonianComprehensive. . . . Thoroughly researched. . . . Highly readable. -Fort Worth Star-TelegramA vividly detailed account. . . . Kaplan clearly shows the connection between Twains writing and the people and events that surrounded his life. -Library JournalUtimately, Kaplans major contribution may be in what he has taken out of the Twain mythology. No longer will Twain be referred to as an inspired primitive. -Houston Chronicle[Kaplan] has researched more fully and completely than any other has been able to do before. . . . Deeply detailed . . . rich with anecdote, facts and the humor that filled the man we have come to know as Mark Twain. -Wichita Falls Times Record NewsIn this magisterial full-scale biography of Americas greatest storyteller and satirist, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Fred Kaplan refashions our image of Mark Twain and etches a vibrant portrait of a singular personality who created some of the most memorable literary characters of our culture. He coined the phrase the Gilded Age, spoke out vigorously against racism and imperialism, and in his multifaceted singularity as writer, businessman, polemicist, investor, inventor, and self-promoter became the most widely extolled and most dominant icon of American literature. As Kaplan writes, There has been no one like him since.From the Back CoverIn this magisterial full-scale biography of America's greatest storyteller and satirist, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Fred Kaplan refashions our image of Mark Twain and etches a vibrant portrait of a singular personality who created some of the most memorable literary characters of our culture. He coined the phrase the Gilded Age, spoke out vigorously against racism and imperialism, and in his multifaceted singularity as writer, businessman, polemicist, investor, inventor, and self-promoter became the most widely extolled and most dominant icon of American literature. As Kaplan writes, There has been no one like him since.About the AuthorFred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of the critically acclaimed biographies Gore Vidal,Henry James, Dickens, andThomas Carlyle, which was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize. He has held Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, and was a Fellow of the National Humanities Center. He lives in Boothbay, Maine.Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.CHAPTER ONETHE BEST BOY YOU HAD 1835-18471.Two people dominated the early years of Samuel Clemens, one a warm presence, the other a cold absence. His mother, Jane Lampton Clemens, bore her burdens with cheerful lightheartedness and energetic imagination. She loved Fourth of July parades as much as she enjoyed funeral proce