"Mark Twain"
1835-1910
Today marks the centennial of the death of Samuel Clemens, that famous Yankee author commonly referred to as Mark Twain. He was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri while Halley's comet flew overhead, and he died April 21, 1910 in Redding, Ct. while Halley's comet made another visit in the sky.
"I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet."
Well known for his wonderful writing and wry sense of humor. Roughing It, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court are a few of his amazing pieces of writing... until now. June 17th, Sotheby's auction house in NYC is auctioning off along with "200 personal letters, manuscripts and photographs" a never published story called " A Family Sketch". Lots of excitement for literary fans! The collection will be on exhibit at Sotheby's starting today and continuing for the next 5 days.
“‘A Family Sketch’ is certainly one of the gems of the Sotheby’s sale,” said David Hirst, general editor of the Mark Twain Papers & Projects at the University of California at Berkeley “Any Mark Twain archive or collector would be willing to go hungry for two or three years just in order to be able to buy it."
In addition to the excitement from the auction, and in to celebrate the life of Mark Twain, The Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut is having a seance and cake at 7:30pm. You can read more about Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens, and the celebration at The Mark Twain House & Museum website.
Have a favorite Mark Twain story?! I loved A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court!
3 comments:
I love Mark Twain! He is probably one of the first authors that I fell in love with. I read all the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn books as a child (but didn't realize the real meaning of Huck Finn until much later in life). As for choosing a favorite, I don't know that I can. A Connecticut Yankee is way up there (just because I love medieval literature so much). His letters and short stories are wonderful. He was just a genius.
Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Melissa!
I also read Huck Finn without realizing the meaning behind it either, and I don't think my teacher really wanted to explain it to us youngsters. I think I may reread it again. And I picked A Ct. Yankee as my favorite because of my love for medieval lit too!
I think I'd pick Huckleberry Finn, though as a Connecticut Yankee myself, I'm attracted to that book, too. Any Twain fans who are passing through New England should make a point to stop at the house/museum in Hartford. It's next door to Harriet Beecher Stowe's house, and not too far from Noah Webster's. A great tour for book lovers.
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