Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

379 Pages·2010·20.178 MB·English

by  Mark Twain, Michael J. Kiskis (editor)

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
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London WC2E 8LU, England
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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All previously unpublished words by Mark Twain quoted in this book are © 1990 by Ed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