Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemen's World (Mark Twain and His Circle Series) (Hardcover)

by Terrell Dempsey (Author) "Samuel Clemens waited for his appointment to arrive..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sam Clemens, John Marshall Clemens, Mark Twain (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Readers who want to understand the world of Twain's childhood, his family relationships or his later years would be well-served by reading Terrell Dempsey's groundbreaking new book, Searching for Jim." - Washingtonpost.com; "Relying on primary sources-newspaper accounts, legal documents, 19th-century abolitionist and pro-slavery narratives, Clemens family papers, church and census records-[Dempsey] greatly expands knowledge of the slave culture of Mark Twain's early years.... Much of his groundbreaking research... will be invaluable for both future biographers and literary critics.... Recommended." - Choice; "A vigorous new voice has risen in the salons of Mark Twain scholarship, and the conversation may never return to a polite murmur. Terrell Dempsey offers the first forensic account in a century's worth of evasion, apology and sugar-coated revisionism of what it meant to be an African slave in Samuel Clemens's hallowed Hannibal, Missouri, and environs. Using his lawyer's skills at discovering evidence and assembling argument, Dempsey has swept away all the cobwebbed myths, some of them encouraged by Twain himself, of happy slaves and kindly owners in antebelium Missouri. He has replaced them with a scorching witness to the inherent pathology of slaveholding, which reached into Clemens's own family and compromised some of Sam's recall. Dempsey's narrative will unsettle some and provoke dispute by others; but in the high tradition of Shelley Fisher Fishkin, he has restored dignity and meaning to Jim and his nameless, numberless brethren. And he has given us a deeper insight into the moral journey of Mark Twain." - Ron Powers; "This remarkable book should be required reading for anyone interested in Twain, and for anyone teaching Twain." - Mark Twain Forum" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Carefully reconstructed from letters, newspaper articles, sermons, speeches, books, and court records, Searching for Jim offers a new perspective on Sam Clemens's writings, especially regarding his use of race in the portrayal of individual characters, their attitudes, and worldviews. This fascinating volume will be valuable to anyone trying to measure the extent to which Clemens transcended the slave culture he lived in during his formative years and the struggles he later faced in dealing with race and guilt. It will forever alter the way we view Sam Clemens, Hannibal, and Mark Twain.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: University of Missouri Press; illustrated edition edition (November 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826214851
• ISBN-13: 978-0826214850
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,812,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Reading for Anyone, January 17, 2007

By	Marsha Clark - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Searching For Jim: Slavery In Sam Clemens's World (Mark Twain and His Circle) (Paperback)

People who conduct their own research of whatever topics will enjoy Dempsey's work. The book is not only an account of Dempsey's journey from reflections on a common community experience to delving into court records and newspaper archives, but it also frames new awareness and truths that speak to us today. This book is an intelligent look at the contribution and social positioning of Black slaves living in Hannibal during the time of Samuel Clemens' youth. The book reveals the culture that set the scene for Clemens' development. Dempsey shows how as a thinking man, Clemens developed an awareness of the cruelty of slavery and how White society could or could not respond to that reality. The author also challenges our behavior and thinking today.

Based on broad and in-depth fresh research, Searching for Jim is readable account of 19th century Hannibal and how that history has impacted political decisions made in recent times. No one will be unchanged in their perspectives and/or knowledge after reading this book.