1601: Mark Twain's Conversation As It Was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors [Hardcover]

Mark Twain (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0848800583 | ISBN-13: 978-0848800581 | Publication Date: June 8, 1999 | Edition: Halleys Co

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Amereon Ltd; Halleys Co edition (June 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0848800583
• ISBN-13: 978-0848800581
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,209,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The little known Twain, November 5, 2007

By 

Professor Bob (woodstock, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark Twain's 1601: Conversation As It Was By The Social Fireside In The Time Of The Tudors (Paperback)

Huckfinn would never use the language or tell the stories(?) Twain writes in this little exercise in blue prose. There is a story that Twain once cut himself shaving and cursed non-stop without repeating a single curse word1601, or, Conversations at the social fireside as it was in the time of the Tudors for a solid five minutes. His wife, of high society, attempted to shame him by repeating his diatride word for word. When she was finished, Twain turned to her, it is reputed, and said, "You got the lyrics down right but the tune is all wrong."

1601 is the kind of book that comes from that side of Twain rather than the one portrayed as the kidly old white haired lecturer (letcher?)sitting on a stool and reading his more socially acceptable prose.

I read the book more than 40 years ago in the restricted rare book room of the University of Pittsburgh accessible by special permission only.

The experience was worth the effort.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of "1601 A Conversation", December 7, 1999

By 

Thomas F. Shultz (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1601: Mark Twain's Conversation As It Was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors (Hardcover)

This work is one intended for a very small audience. It was originally published privately by Clemens and circulated to his close friends. There are references to it in some of Clemens' biographies; however, this work is customarily not included in any collected works or anthologies. It is one of Clemens' scatological works and was probably scandalous in its day. The work is a historical curiosity; the only original volume I have seen is in the rare books library of Cornell University.

This volume pokes fun at the British Aristocracy of days past. It strongly reflects Clemens' views "On the Damned Human Race" as well as portraying the universal human condition. The humour is puerile and at the same time most satirical. No one who is a lover of Clemens' work can have a complete collection without it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical fraud and pornography, by Mark Twain, June 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: 1601: Mark Twain's Conversation As It Was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors (Hardcover)

While practicing the writing style to be used in "The Prince and the Pauper", Twain had some fun creating this little tale of an evening of converation in 1601 when Queen Elizabeth plays host to some luminaries of the era (Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, etc.). The text consists of notes made from the point of view of a disgusted servant. This is vulgar humor (Twain wrote in his autobiography, "...if there is a decent word findable in it, it is because I overlooked it") and it will not appeal to all tastes, but Mark Twain buffs may appreciate seeing an unusual side of Twain, and it's said that Twain would pick up the text and laugh at it with close friends. I have heard that this fictional story was taken seriously by some people and thus is the source of some odd rumors about Queen Elizabeth et al. The actual story is extremely short, so I don't know how they filled a book with it