Children's writer and humorist Mark Twain is a fixture in American literature. He was a humorous writer who created two famous characters, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He is also known for his travel book The Innocents Abroad.
Through his two most popular and loved novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain captured his boyhood escapades along the Mississippi River.
Early Life of Samuel Clemens
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, the fifth of six children. The family was poor and his father suffered ill health. In 1839 they moved to Hannibal, a rapidly growing town in the Mississippi River, and there, Twain went to the local school.
When he was 12, his father died. Twain had to leave school to find work in which he apprenticed to a printer. By age 22, he became a river pilot at a time when there were a thousand or so boats a day on the Mississippi River. For four years, he enjoyed and loved his trade until the American Civil War ended the river traffic.
A Writing Career as Mark Twain
After the war around 1862, Clemens became a full-time journalist, and soon began to use the pen name Mark Twain.
At the age of 32, he published his first important story, and two years later, published his first successful novel, the humorous travel book The Innocents Abroad. It told the story of an excursion of American pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Twain's Marriage and the Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer
In 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon, with whom he had five children. Few years later, he wrote his classic children's stories, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain had become increasingly disillusioned by modern life and personal tragedies, and the books provided an opportunity for him to relive his boyhood golden years on the Mississippi.
Both stories, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, give a realistic picture of life around the Mississippi and are full of adventure and humor. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, considered his masterpiece, is noted for its accurate and sympathetic depiction of adolescent life.
Twain's Later Life
His later life was plagued with several financial problems. He was also pained by declining health and the death of his favorite daughter.
Mark Twain is regarded as a major literary figure in American history, with his classic books loved worldwide. He died at the age of 74, in Redding, Connecticut, on April 21, 1910.
Mark Twain Books
- The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches, 1867
- The Innocents Abroad, 1869
- Roughing It, 1872
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1876
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884
- Pudd'nhead Wilson: A Tale, 1894 (or A Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson)
Those who are hoping to get a taste of Mark Twain's humor may want to consider reading some of his famous quotes.
Sources:
- Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994.
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers / Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Ousby, Ian, Ed. The Cambridge Literature in English. Cambridge: CUP, 1993.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
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