Mark Twain Biography

Mark Twain himself was Twain’s first successful work of fiction. Born in 1835 as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Twain worked as a river boat captain on the Mississippi while a young man. When the pilots called out the depth of the river, “mark twain” meant that the river was two fathoms deep. A master of vernacular English, Twain eventually traveled all over America (and beyond), paying attention to how people really spoke and what really entertained them. He published poetry, jokes, tall tales, nonfiction, and, of course, some of the greatest novels in American history. His characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn seem to capture the meaning of boyhood, America, and life on the wild Mississippi River.

Facts and Trivia

  • Twain grew up in Missouri, a slave state. However, when the Civil War broke out, Missouri didn’t join the Confederacy, so Twain and some friends formed a militia to fight on the Confederate side. This lasted until the first battle. When a man was killed, Twain deserted.
  • Twain was a successful lecturer, generating money and fame via speaking tours throughout the United States and Europe.
  • When Twain disliked you, you knew it. His essay “Fennimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” does an entertainingly malicious job of taking apart the author of Last of the Mohicans.
  • Twain made lots of money, but he lost most of it. He was as bad at investing as he was good at writing, and he eventually had to declare bankruptcy.
  • Ernest Hemingway once said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”

Biography

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Mark Twain's life was a rich tapestry of experiences that deeply influenced his literary creations. Born Samuel Clemens, he drew upon his early years in Hannibal, Missouri, and his varied careers to craft some of America's most enduring works. His journey from a young boy in Missouri to a world-renowned author is a testament to his multifaceted life and talents.

Early Life and Influences

Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. At the age of four, he moved with his family to Hannibal, a town that would become the backdrop for his iconic novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Following his father's death when he was just eleven, young Twain took on an apprenticeship as a printer, contributing sketches to his brother's newspaper. His early career saw him working in various cities, including New York, until his childhood dream led him back to the Mississippi River in 1857, where he became a river pilot. This occupation lasted until 1861, when the Civil War brought river traffic to a halt.

Venturing Westward

After a brief stint with the Missouri militia, Twain journeyed to the Nevada Territory alongside his brother Orion, who had secured a role as the governor's secretary. In Nevada, Twain attempted his luck in journalism and prospecting for precious metals like silver and gold. By 1864, he had made his way to San Francisco, where he published "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in a New York newspaper. This humorous story garnered widespread attention and established his reputation in the literary world. Twain also embarked on a long career of public speaking in 1866, a venture that would make him as well-known for his live performances as for his written work.

Travels and Early Success

As a correspondent for a California newspaper, Twain visited the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) and later traveled to Europe, the Mediterranean, and Palestine. His experiences abroad provided the material for his first book, Innocents Abroad (1869), which was met with significant popular acclaim. Settling on the East Coast, Twain married Olivia Langdon in 1870, the daughter of a wealthy Elmira, New York merchant. He soon took on the role of editor and part-owner of a Buffalo newspaper. A year later, Twain moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he invested his earnings in an opulent mansion, today preserved as a memorial.

Literary Output and Financial Struggles

Driven in part by the costs of his opulent lifestyle, Twain's writing output was prolific. His works drew on a wide array of inspirations, from his travels to his childhood, and even historical events. In 1872, he released Roughing It, a collection of humorous sketches recounting his adventures in the West and during his travels. The Gilded Age (1873), co-authored with Charles Dudley Warner, critiqued contemporary society and lent its name to an era. His novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was rooted in his boyhood experiences in Hannibal. Twain continued this trend with A Tramp Abroad (1880), another travel narrative, and The Prince and the Pauper, a comedic historical novel. Life on the Mississippi provided a nostalgic look back at his days as a river pilot, while Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, considered by many as his masterpiece, served as a sequel to Tom Sawyer.

Personal Tragedies and Later Works

By the time he published A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Twain had completed much of his most significant writing. The 1890s were marked by personal and financial turmoil, as his investments in a typesetting machine and his publishing company's bankruptcy led to financial disaster. During a lecture tour intended to repay his debts, he suffered the loss of his daughter Susy to meningitis in 1896. This tragedy, compounded by the earlier death of his son Langdon in 1872, left an indelible mark on Twain, and the family never returned to their Hartford home.

Final Years and Legacy

Following the release of Following the Equator (1897), another exploration of his travels, Twain engaged in various projects, many of which were published posthumously. These later works, often marked by a more somber tone, include "The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg" (1900), "What Is Man?" (1906), and "The Mysterious Stranger" (1916). His twilight years were burdened by failing health and deep sorrow, particularly after the deaths of his wife in 1904 and his daughter Jean in 1909. Twain spent his last days living in New York, passing away at "Stormfield," his estate in Redding, Connecticut, on April 21, 1910.

At the time of his death, Twain had become an international icon, renowned far beyond America's borders. Though he crafted a public persona that often obscured his internal struggles, his legacy as a humorist, social critic, historian, and thinker endures. Twain's complex character and vast contributions continue to captivate readers and biographers alike.

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