Mark Twain

Before Samuel Langhorne Clemens became Mark Twain, his family’s fortunes were already in motion, carrying the Clemenses from one home to the next. What could a boy inherit from a life that never quite settles?

Albert Bigelow Paine begins with the Clemens ancestors and the uncertain fortunes of John and Jane, following their repeated moves to a humble birthplace in Florida, Missouri, and then to the river town of Hannibal. There, amid family hardship and the sharp contrasts of childhood, Samuel’s character begins to take shape. Paine sets out to write history rather than eulogy, tracing the experiences behind the voice that would become Mark Twain’s. How did a restless boy’s early world prepare him for the life ahead?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

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