This page intentionally left blank TheCambridgeIntroductionto Mark Twain MarkTwainisacentralfigureinnineteenth-centuryAmerican literature,andhisnovelsareamongthebest-knownandmostoften studiedtextsinthefield.Thisclearandincisiveintroductionprovidesa biographyoftheauthorandsituateshisworksinthehistoricaland culturalcontextofhistimes.PeterMessentgivesaccessiblebut penetratingreadingsofthebest-knownwritingsincludingTomSawyer andHuckleberryFinn.HepaysparticularattentiontothewayTwain’s humourworksandhowitunderpinshisprosestyle.Thefinalchapter providesup-to-dateanalysisoftherecentcriticalreceptionofTwain’s writing,andsummarisesthecontentiousandimportantdebatesabout hisliteraryandculturalposition.Theguidetofurtherreadingwillhelp thosewhowishtoextendtheirresearchandcriticalworkontheauthor. ThisbookwillbeofoutstandingvaluetoanyonecomingtoTwainfor thefirsttime. Peter Messent isProfessorofModernAmericanLiteratureatthe UniversityofNottingham. Cambridge Introductions to Literature Thisseriesisdesignedtointroducestudentstokeytopicsandauthors. Accessibleandlively,theseintroductionswillalsoappealtoreaderswho wanttobroadentheirunderstandingofthebooksandauthorstheyenjoy. (cid:1) Idealforstudents,teachers,andlecturers (cid:1) Concise,yetpackedwithessentialinformation (cid:1) Keysuggestionsforfurtherreading Titlesinthisseries: EricBulson TheCambridgeIntroductiontoJamesJoyce JohnXirosCooper TheCambridgeIntroductiontoT.S.Eliot KirkCurnutt TheCambridgeIntroductiontoF.ScottFitzgerald JanetteDillon TheCambridgeIntroductiontoEarlyEnglishTheatre JaneGoldman TheCambridgeIntroductiontoVirginiaWoolf KevinJ.Hayes TheCambridgeIntroductiontoHermanMelville DavidHoldeman TheCambridgeIntroductiontoW.B.Yeats M.JimmieKillingsworth TheCambridgeIntroductiontoWaltWhitman RonanMcDonald TheCambridgeIntroductiontoSamuelBeckett WendyMartin TheCambridgeIntroductiontoEmilyDickinson PeterMessent TheCambridgeIntroductiontoMarkTwain JohnPeters TheCambridgeIntroductiontoJosephConrad SarahRobbins TheCambridgeIntroductiontoHarrietBeecherStowe MartinScofield TheCambridgeIntroductiontotheAmericanShortStory PeterThomson TheCambridgeIntroductiontoEnglishTheatre,1660–1900 JanetTodd TheCambridgeIntroductiontoJaneAusten The Cambridge Introduction to Mark Twain PETER MESSENT CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridg e.org /9780521854450 ©PeterMessent2007 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisionof relevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. Firstpublishedinprintformat 2007 ISBN-13 978-0-511-27140-3 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN-10 0-511-27140-9 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN-13 978-0-521-85445-0 hardback ISBN-10 0-521-85445-8 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-67075-3 paperback ISBN-10 0-521-67075-6 paperback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurls forexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,anddoesnot guaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. hisgenerosityandencouragementovertheyears. ToLouBudd,thebestofTwainscholars,withthanksfor v Contents Preface page ix Noteonreferencing xi 1 Mark Twain’s life 1 Theearlylife 1 Riverboating,theCivilWar,theWest 3 Earlysuccess,marriage,theHartfordyears 5 Expatriation,financialloss,familytragedy 7 Thefinalyears 8 2 Contexts 11 SamuelLanghorneClemensand‘MarkTwain’ 17 3 Works 22 Twain’shumour 22 Travelandtravelwriting:InnocentsAbroad, ATrampAbroad,RoughingIt,Lifeonthe Mississippi 38 TomSawyerandHuckleberryFinn 64 AConnecticutYankeeandPudd’nheadWilson 87 4 Critical reception and the late works 109 Notes 120 Guidetofurtherreading 127 Index 132 vii