Customer Reviews

Mark Twain & Me

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Mark Twain had a group of girls between the ages of 10 and 16 that he would visit, or have visit him, known as Anglefish. The one he seems to have taken the most interest in was Dorothy Quick, and she wrote the experiences down in her 1960 book "Enchanted: A Little Girl's Friendship With Mark Twain". It is written from her perspective at the time, and is very nice.

Disney made a movie out of it (very nicely done, though they destroyed all the major points in favor of a modern view on adult relationships with children) and named it "Mark Twain & Me". The University re-released this book amid the publicity, and renamed it after the movie. (No subtitle either.) The book is exactly the same, save the cover.

In all, Mark Twain (from the "Mark Twain's Aquarium") said he "worshiped" school-age girls. And during the tumultuous last years of his life, he spent a good deal of time with them, even writing a mock complaint when one of them got a boyfriend. He only stopped befriending one of them, the first one, when she turned 16. (He devastated her by giving two cold responses, without warning.) He died before any of the others got "too old". He took a special interest in Dorothy, and helped her with her writing skills. Dorothy wrote (and published) some short stories or poems, and she attributes her skill to him.

There are some meaningful scenarios like where he teases the captain of a ship telling him that she is his manager, and they needed to get her permission for his to speak at the captain's table. (She didn't know this until she was asked.) When she gave him a present for the December holiday not realizing at the time the emotion flared up inside him (because he hated the day.) Or his humorous take on life, or even why anybody liked him. And so on.

It is a light read, and well done. Suitable for all ages.

If your child is a fan of Mark Twain's then this book would be interesting to read together. It is written in the voice of a very young girl in a very old fashioned style, using words like "gay" and "cross," in the way of the pre-1930's. If however, you are looking for a book of Mark Twain's life experiences written from an adult's perspective, this is not it.

I received this book in the shape as discribed. It arrived within 5 days from order. thank you very much.