Resources

Most Twain biographies tend to focus on one or two aspects of the writer’s life. This one is different. Powers shines a strong light into many dim and previously unexplored rooms, providing us with a much more complete portrait of this very complex man. Most importantly, while some have caricaturized Clemens as a lifelong depressive who sank into deep bitterness and cynicism during the final years of his life, Powers helps us to understand just how strong and steady were the undercurrents of resilience and optimism that kept Clemens from despair during a life battered by deep loss.

This Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner is a thorough and very readable treatment focusing on the development of Clemens the man and Twain the character against the backdrop of the Gilded Age.

This collection of 26 previously unpublished Twain essays is a biting and often hilarious new glimpse into the mind of the man who defined American literature. Perhaps the most amazing characteristic of these pieces is their enduring relevancy.