Mark Twain - Classic Literature Mark Twain
Mark Twain is one of the most celebrated American authors in history. His colorful experiences and travels provided rich characters and stories full of adventure that remain popular to this day. He was the father of American colloquial prose, making the style popular in the late 1800s and breaking with many established conventions. He remains an integral piece of America’s literary history.
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30th, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He was the third of five children born to John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Hannibal, a larger town that gave him the inspiration for places featured in his novels.
Clemens education was brought to an abrupt halt when, in 1847, his father died suddenly. Samuel was twelve at the time. He was forced to work to support his family and became apprentice to a local printer known as Ament.
In 1850, Clemens left the employ of Ament in favor of working for his brother, Orion, who had just bought a local paper, the Hannibal Journal. It was there his writing career began. By title, he was a journalist but often published his fictional writings when his brother was absent.
Clemens, eager to travel, left Hannibal for New York in 1853. He continued to write and worked sporadically in printing offices throughout the Eastern states over the next few years. In 1956, Clemens changed career as a result of his desire to travel, working as a licensed riverboat pilot in Mississippi until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1960.
Clemens served briefly in the war as a Confederate militiaman in 1861 before heading West. In Nevada, he participated in many doomed get-rich-quick schemes before finding work as a writer. It was on February 3rd, 1963, whilst working for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City that Mark Twain was born.
Twain first received national recognition in 1865 for ‘Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog’, a story that was published in The Saturday Press of New York. It led to the publication of The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches in 1967. This book was Twain’s first and thus launched his literary career.
Twain’s success earned him a job at The Sacramento Union lecturing and writing letters as a correspondent in Hawaii. Further travel to France and Italy led to the publication of The Innocents Abroad (1869) detailing his experiences. It may have been Twain’s first published travel writing, but it initiated a theme that was present in most of his work.
Twain married Olivia Langdon in 1870 and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Twain continued to write but travelled little over the next few years. The years between 1876 and 1884 were arguably his most productive.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1882) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) are all considered classic literature and were Twain’s masterpieces. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in particular captured readers’ imagination. Their adventures drew on those of the author and gave an honest depiction of boyhood.
The latter book has, however, been subject to controversy since its publication. Its depiction of race has led to debate over the racial beliefs of its Southern author, despite Twain having denied any racist tendencies. Later works such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) and The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894) have also come under scrutiny with regard to race and gender issues.
Twain had established his own publishing company, C. L. Webster, in New York during 1884, and had invested most of his capital in it. Unfortunately for Twain, it failed in the 1890s and left him with very little. He undertook a world tour lecturing in order to pay off his debts, and had done so by 1898.
Following his bankruptcy, Twain travelled extensively with his family. He toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India before returning home at the turn of the century. Following the Equator (1897), a travel book chronicling his experiences during this period, was published as a result.
Twain’s later years were blighted with personal tragedy. His oldest daughter, Susy, died of meningitis during the family tour of Europe and was followed by his wife, whose health had deteriorated in recent years, in 1904 and their youngest daughter, Jean, shortly afterward. Twain’s mental health deteriorated as a result.
Mark Twain died on April 21st, 1910. He was aged 74.
