The Letters of Mark Twain and Joseph Hopkins Twichell

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Pub Date Apr 15 2017 | Archive Date Jul 27 2017

University of Georgia Press

Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)

Description

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.”

A Note From the Publisher

Harold K. Bush is a professor English at Saint Louis University and the author of three books, including Mark Twain and the Spiritual Crisis of His Age.

Peter Messent is the emeritus professor of modern American literature at the University of Nottingham and the author several books, including Mark Twain and Male Friendship: The Twichell, Howells, and Rogers Friendships.

Steve Courtney is the publicist and publications editor of the Mark Twain House. He is the author of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: The Life and Times of Mark Twain’s Closest Friend and the coeditor (with Peter Messent) of The Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: A Chaplain’s Story (both Georgia).

Harold K. Bush is a professor English at Saint Louis University and the author of three books, including Mark Twain and the Spiritual Crisis of His Age.

Peter Messent is the emeritus professor of...

Read More Read More

A Note From the Publisher

Harold K. Bush is a professor English at Saint Louis University and the author of three books, including Mark Twain and the Spiritual Crisis of His Age.

Peter Messent is the emeritus professor of modern American literature at the University of Nottingham and the author several books, including Mark Twain and Male Friendship: The Twichell, Howells, and Rogers Friendships.

Steve Courtney is the publicist and publications editor of the Mark Twain House. He is the author of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: The Life and Times of Mark Twain’s Closest Friend and the coeditor (with Peter Messent) of The Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: A Chaplain’s Story (both Georgia).

Advance Praise

"Two friends talking. You get more of Mark Twain the unguarded person from these conversations between two friends than from the biographies. They traveled the footpaths of Europe together, their wives and children enriched their friendship, they could say what they wanted and know they'd get away with it. This is special."
—Hal Holbrook

"Although Clemens corresponded intimately and at length with a number of individuals, nowhere does he stand more revealed than in his letters to Joe Twichell. The voice that emerges in these pages—by turns lyrical, ebullient, wrathful, and achingly melancholic—offers a glimpse into the writer’s truest, most candid self. As such, this collection is an invaluable addition to the field of Mark Twain studies."
—Kerry Driscoll, University of Saint Joseph

"In this age of vanishing correspondence—emails, texts, instant messages—there is a real risk for posterity. Consider those unguarded moments of frankness, celebrations of joy, and confidential speculations shared only with the closest of friends. The demise of the handwritten letter is lamentable. In this exceptional book, readers eavesdrop on Sam Clemens and his closest friend Joe Twichell (‘. . . you splendid old muggins!’) in real-time communications. The inside jokes, intimate confidences, hopes, fears, and tragedies are shared unvarnished between two young men who became fast friends and grew old together across four decades. The editors have done a superb job of presenting important context without overpowering the real content: the letters of love, respect, and affection for each other and each other's families in the setting of a rapidly changing world. A must read for anyone who has ever had a best friend."
—Cindy Lovell, Executive Director, The Mark Twain House & Museum

"Two friends talking. You get more of Mark Twain the unguarded person from these conversations between two friends than from the biographies. They traveled the footpaths of Europe together...