The Letters of Mark Twain and Joseph Hopkins Twichell

Fiction & Literature, Essays & Letters, Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book The Letters of Mark Twain and Joseph Hopkins Twichell by , University of Georgia Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780820350745
Publisher: University of Georgia Press Publication: April 15, 2017
Imprint: University of Georgia Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780820350745
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication: April 15, 2017
Imprint: University of Georgia Press
Language: English

This book contains the complete texts of all known correspondence between Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) and Joseph Hopkins Twichell. Theirs was a rich exchange. The long, deep friendship of Clemens and Twichell—a Congregationalist minister of Hartford, Connecticut—rarely fails to surprise, given the general reputation Twain has of being antireligious. Beyond this, an examination of the growth, development, and shared interests characterizing that friendship makes it evident that as in most things about him, Mark Twain defies such easy categorization or judgment.

From the moment of their first encounter in 1868, a rapport was established. When Twain went to dinner at the Twichell home, he wrote to his future wife that he had “got up to go at 9.30 PM, & never sat down again—but [Twichell] said he was bound to have his talk out—& I was willing—& so I only left at 11.” This conversation continued, in various forms, for forty-two years—in both men’s houses, on Hartford streets, on Bermuda roads, and on Alpine trails.

The dialogue between these two men—one an inimitable American literary figure, the other a man of deep perception who himself possessed both narrative skill and wit—has been much discussed by Twain biographers. But it has never been presented in this way before: as a record of their surviving correspondence; of the various turns of their decades-long exchanges; of what Twichell described in his journals as the “long full feast of talk” with his friend, whom he would always call “Mark.”

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book contains the complete texts of all known correspondence between Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) and Joseph Hopkins Twichell. Theirs was a rich exchange. The long, deep friendship of Clemens and Twichell—a Congregationalist minister of Hartford, Connecticut—rarely fails to surprise, given the general reputation Twain has of being antireligious. Beyond this, an examination of the growth, development, and shared interests characterizing that friendship makes it evident that as in most things about him, Mark Twain defies such easy categorization or judgment.

From the moment of their first encounter in 1868, a rapport was established. When Twain went to dinner at the Twichell home, he wrote to his future wife that he had “got up to go at 9.30 PM, & never sat down again—but [Twichell] said he was bound to have his talk out—& I was willing—& so I only left at 11.” This conversation continued, in various forms, for forty-two years—in both men’s houses, on Hartford streets, on Bermuda roads, and on Alpine trails.

The dialogue between these two men—one an inimitable American literary figure, the other a man of deep perception who himself possessed both narrative skill and wit—has been much discussed by Twain biographers. But it has never been presented in this way before: as a record of their surviving correspondence; of the various turns of their decades-long exchanges; of what Twichell described in his journals as the “long full feast of talk” with his friend, whom he would always call “Mark.”

More books from University of Georgia Press

Cover of the book The Riots by
Cover of the book Blood, Bone, and Marrow by
Cover of the book Reconstructing Democracy by
Cover of the book Beyond Katrina by
Cover of the book Finding Charity's Folk by
Cover of the book Let Us Build Us a City by
Cover of the book Mapping Region in Early American Writing by
Cover of the book The Takeover by
Cover of the book The Blue, the Gray, and the Green by
Cover of the book Flush Times and Fever Dreams by
Cover of the book Revolting New York by
Cover of the book Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You by
Cover of the book Serendib by
Cover of the book Moses, Jesus, and the Trickster in the Evangelical South by
Cover of the book Campus Sexpot by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy