In the last year of his life Mark Twain asserted, "To me, the most important feature of my life is its literary feature." "This new biography takes him at his word. . . . [It] may inspire many to reread the Inimitable himself."—Kirkus Reviews
Everett Emerson is Alumni Distinguished Professor of English, Emeritus, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of The Authentic Mark Twain: A Literary Biography of Samuel L. Clemens, along with numerous other works on Mark Twain, and is the founder of the Mark Twain Circle of America.
"Everett Emerson has seemingly read every word written by and about Mark Twain. His biography is prodigiously well-researched and informative."--Boston Book Review "This biography will win high praise from those who care most about Twain's literary achievement."--Booklist "Emerson's graphic record of the failed artist who created perhaps the greatest novel written in America, Huckleberry Finn, will be a standard resource."--Publishers Weekly "With a spectacular, but not showy, familiarity with the entire range of Twain's works, Emerson shows a man who had trouble reconciling his Western persona with a proper Eastern lifestyle."--Library Journal "An all at once engaging and purified life story."--ForeWord "Mark Twain considered his writing the key feature of his life; this new biography takes him at his word... [It] may inspire many to reread the Inimitable himself."--Kirkus Reviews "This newest biography is based simply and sanely on the assumption, 'that one can understand virtually all of Mark Twain's works better if one can read them in their biographical context.' With a spectacular, but not showy, familiarity with the entire range of Twain's works, Emerson portrays a man who, in midlife, had trouble reconciling his rough-and-tumble, Western persona with a proper Eastern lifestyle. Emerson argues convincingly that Twain spent too much time trying both to write sequels to his most lucrative works and to establish himself as a dramatist and let himself be distracted by his social life and star-crossed business ventures. This welcome addition to Twainiana (the last wrap-up chapter is worth the price of admission) is recommended for all."--Library Journal
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