The Courtship of Olivia Langdon and Mark Twain (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) [Paperback]

Susan K. Harris (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521556503 | ISBN-13: 978-0521556507 | Publication Date: February 28, 1997

Passionate readers both, Olivia Langdon and Mark Twain courted through books, spelling out their expectations through literary references as they corresponded during their frequent separations. Working with Langdon's own letters and diaries as well as Twain's, Harris traces the progress of their courtship within the larger context of Victorian American culture, showing how the couple negotiated their relationship through the mediums of literature, material culture, and social and familial dynamics.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For much of the 20th century, literary scholars have viewed Olivia Langdon Clemens, the wife of Samuel Clemens--or Mark Twain, as he is better known--as a neurotic, dull, and excessively proper woman. In The Courtship of Olivia Langdon and Mark Twain, author Susan K. Harris presents a radically different view of a woman often ignored by history. Harris bases this study of Langdon on her subject's own diaries and letters, as well as letters by Twain. What she discovers is not the dull Victorian housewife whom modern biographers of Twain have often portrayed. Instead, Harris reveals a vibrant, intellectually acute woman who was well read in history, science, and, of course, literature. Also exposed here are Twain's own conservative views about women and his need to be superior to Langdon, even as he admires her.

Harris's book covers several important areas of both Olivia Langdon's life alone and her life with Samuel Clemens, including Langdon's education and reading preferences, her interest in science, and her intellectual differences with Clemens. By examining the letters these two wrote to each other and their lives and intellectual development apart, Harris casts a new and fascinating light on the vastly underrated Mrs. "Mark Twain."

Review

"Harris nimbly interweaving texts (letters, diaries) and contexts, dispels the mystery, bringing back the real Mrs. Twain: a woman of genuine intellectual reach, and a passionate reader in an era where that passion could itself be a kind of art." The New Yorker

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521556503
• ISBN-13: 978-0521556507
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #587,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.