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Life on the Mississippi is no ordinary guided tour, for every page is expressive of the structure, style and high humour that is the very essence of Twain the writer. Spiced with Twain's pungent observations and commentaries on the culture and society of the great river valley, the book is a wonderful collection of lively anecdotes, tall tales and character sketches; historical facts and information; and reminiscences of the author's boyhood and experiences as a steamboat pilot. Life on the Mississippi, in its composition and substance, is intricately related to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In his introduction, James M. Cox suggests that in writing this travelogue Twain discovered the truths that form the heart of the odyssey depicted in his masterpiece, Huckleberry Finn.
About The Author
Mark Twain is the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910). He was born and brought up in the American state of Missouri and, because of his father’s death, he left school to earn his living when he was only twelve. He was a great adventurer and travelled round America as a printer; prospected for gold and set off for South America to earn his fortune. He returned to become a steam-boat pilot on the Mississippi River, close to where he had grown up. The Civil War put an end to steam-boating and Clemens briefly joined the Confederate army – although the rest of his family were Unionists! He had already tried his hand at newspaper reporting and now became a successful journalist. He started to use the alias Mark Twain during the Civil War and it was under this pen name that he became a famous travel writer. He took the name from his steam-boat days – it was the river pilots’ cry to let their men know that the water was two fathoms deep.
Mark Twain was always nostalgic about his childhood and in 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published, based on his own experiences. The book was soon recognised as a work of genius and eight years later the sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was published. The great writer Ernest Hemingway claimed that 'All modern literature stems from this one book.'
Mark Twain was soon famous all over the world. He made a fortune from writing and lost it on a typesetter he invented. He then made another fortune and lost it on a bad investment. He was an impulsive, hot-tempered man but was also quite sentimental and superstitious. He was born when Halley’s Comet was passing the Earth and always believed he would die when it returned – this is exactly what happened.
Industry Reviews
ISBN: 9780140390506
ISBN-10: 0140390502
Series: Penguin Classics
Published: 25th April 1985
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 450
Audience: General Adult
For Ages: 18+ years old
For Grades: 9+
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Country of Publication: GB
Edition Number: 1
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 13.1 x 2.1
Weight (kg): 0.32
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You Can Find This Book In
This product is categorised by
- Non-FictionBiographies & True Stories BiographiesLiterary Biographies
- Non-FictionBiographies & True Stories BiographiesHistorical, Political and Military Biographies
- Non-FictionHistoryEarliest Times to Present DayModern History from 1700 to 1900
- Non-FictionHistoryRegional & National HistoryHistory of the Americas
- FictionClassic FictionPenguin Black Classics Penguin Black Classics Fiction
- Non-FictionTravel & HolidaysTravel WritingClassic Travel Writing