“Americans have cherished and magnified versions of an idealized Mark Twain. We admire and are amused by the celebrity, who sold his pseudonym and his carefully composed face to advertise pipe tobacco, cigarettes, whiskey, and postcards. The extent to which the received images are authentic or inauthentic is, however, in doubt. Common images must be modified when we examine the thoughts and emotions important to the mind and heart of Samuel L. Clemens, the private man.”―from the Introduction
No writer has been more frequently identified with America than Mark Twain, an emblematic figure often supposed to represent the essential qualities that make America most admirably American. In a fresh appraisal, supported by evidence from both the life and the writings, Guy Cardwell convincingly revises our images of this cultural icon. He portrays an exceptionally complex man who experienced debilitating tensions and neuroses.
Caldwell finds that even before the comedian from the West met and married Olivia Langdon, the heiress from Elmira, New York, he was ambitious to join and conquer the world of Eastern affluence and gentility. Yet Clemens’s jokes (in his private notebooks) aggressing against women and blacks suggest that his acculturation to gentility was never complete. This book throws new light on Clemens’s relations with his wife and her family and on his attitudes toward business, money, art, sex, and the little girls whose company he sought compulsively during his later years. It argues persuasively that in the end Twain was hardly the robust and genial representative of America’s mythic frontier past. Alienated from society and from his own writings, he was much more the prototype of the overstrung, exploitatively individualistic modern American.
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Book Description Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # T14B-03527
Book Description Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP64664477
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. X-Library book. Standard wear to cover and typical library markings. Includes dust jacket. 100% Money Back Guarantee!!!. Seller Inventory # DH-0ZB0-C24V
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. "This book throws new light on Clemens's relations with his wife and her family and on his attitudes toward business, money, art, sex, and the little girls whose company he sought compulsively during his later years.Alienated from society and from his won writings, he was much more the prototype of the overstrung, exploitatively individualistic modern American.". Seller Inventory # PBJ 1010
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. HARDBACK BOOK AND DUST JACKET IN NEAR FINE CONDITION. Seller Inventory # 304700
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. First Printing. Book is a clean tight unmarked copy. Seller Inventory # 007738
Book Description Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has hardback covers. Clean from markings. In good all round condition. Dust jacket in good condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,750grams, ISBN:9780300049503. Seller Inventory # 8966366
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 267pp. Brick cloth with black lettering on spine. Dustwrapper light tan with front cover color portrait of Twain, pipe in place, looking at reader; spine sunned, spilling over lengthwise down gutter area of both covers, with all spine lettering sharp and distinct, else Fine, with no traces of wear at corners or edges; a 3 3/4" diagonal scratch on rear cover, which can be felt more than seen: very minor. Signed and warmly inscribed by author to gift recipients on half-title page, else no other writing in text or on edges. Inscribed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 004014
Book Description HRD. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # L1-9780300049503
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