Mark Twain's Letters, Volume 1: 1853-1866 (Mark Twain's Collected Letters) [Hardcover]

Mark Twain (Author), Edgar Marquess Branch (Editor), Michael B. Frank (Editor), Kenneth M. Sanderson (Editor), Harriet Elinor Smith (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This auspicious beginning of what may come to be regarded as one of the most important collections of letters by an American author takes 17-year-old Sam Clemens, searching for work as an itinerant printer, from Hannibal, Mo., to age 31, when, established as the writer Mark Twain in California, he is on his way to wealth and worldwide fame. During these 14 years, he travels from the East Coast to the West, working along the way as a steamboat pilot, gold hunter, newspaper writer and editor, foreign correspondent, storyteller and humorous lecturer. Wherever he settlesin big cities, Nevada mining camps or Hawaiihe writes entertainingly to his family and friends about the moods and experiences, sights and sounds he encounters. Reading these letters is like anticipating Life on the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in some ways more enjoyably because of their freshness and spontaneity. Less than three-fifths of the book consists of the actual letter texts; the rest is editorial apparatus so admirably organized and set forth as to become a source of wonder to general readers and delight to advanced students of literary history. Appendixes include genealogies, maps, photographs, manuscript facsimiles and a detailed commentary. The book constitutes a major publishing venture.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This initial volume in the first comprehensive edition of Twain's letters (about half first published here) takes us from 1853when at age 17, he left Hannibalto 1866when at age 31, he was on the verge of a great career. Lively and informative, they are addressed mostly to family members and record Twain's erratic progress from Mississippi riverboat apprentice-pilot to Nevada Territory gold prospector to San Francisco newspaper reporter. The notes included are both interesting and exhaustive, and the volume as a whole provides welcome insight into the later works, particularly Life on the Mississippi and Roughing It , of a great American writer. Charles C. Nash, English Dept., Cottey Coll., Nevada, Mo.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 664 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (March 7, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520036689
• ISBN-13: 978-0520036680
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,765,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was an American humorist, satirist, social critic, lecturer and novelist. He is mostly remembered for his classic novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, March 4, 2004

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Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark Twain's Letters, Volume 1: 1853-1866 (Mark Twain's Collected Letters) (Hardcover)

If you love Mark Twain, this is a necessary book and an extremely enjoyable one. Expertly edited, the letters are as interesting to read (if not more so!) than Twain's fiction. It's impossible not to be drawn to this witty, brilliant, sarcastic, amazing man. His letters shine a light upon his soul in a way that his fiction doesn't always do. I think the most interesting section are the letters from San Francisco. For anyone who admires the greatest American author, this will win a deserved place of honor on your bookshelf.