Mark Twain: The Divided Mind of America's Best-Loved Writer

Library of American Biography

by David W. Levy

The life and writings of a beloved American writer illuminate the Gilded Age and reveal his ambivalence toward the changes wrought by industry and wealth.

Like the steamboat on which Mark Twain adopted his pen name, the industrial growth that swept America in the latter half of the nineteenth century prompted Americans to react variously with delight, awe, fear, excitement for the future, and nostalgia for a simpler time. David Levy's biography places Mark Twain and his work in the context of sweeping societal changes: westward expansion, the Civil War, American imperialism, the end of slavery and start of a new chapter in race relations, and the advances and excesses of the Gilded Age.

Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each of the titles in the Library of American Biography series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2010

About the author

David W. Levy is Professor Emeritus of the Department of History of Oklahoma University at Norman Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Claudia]

I know David Levy, the author, and I was glad to see this book. I haven't read a lot of biographies, so I'm not sure he has any new tid-bits...he does explore Twain's pessimism at the end and gives several explanations. I think that might be new for some not-so-serious readers. I think what fascinated me the most is the way Levy explores that conflicting nature of the man: was he the money-grubbing Gilded Age-r, always looking for a fast score, or was he that romantic dreamer who loved the slower life of the river towns of his youth. Levy uses the metaphors of the paddleboats and the rafts to explain his internal conflict, and I love that. Twain will forever be connected with both.

I loved Levy's commentary at the beginning and the end where he develops his metaphor, and I appreciated the discussion of each of his major books. He talks about the unevenness of HUCK FINN, and he talks at length about the book that disturbs me the most: CONNECTICUTT YANKEE. I still remember reading it in college, laughing out loud at the scene with Hank trying to wear his armor and mount his horse. But then Twain destroyed everything, just as Hank destroyed the world he loved. I can remember sitting, completely devestated by that book...just sitting.

I'm eager to share this with colleagues who teach, and teach very successfully, HUCK FINN. This adds new insights to our understanding of this amazing, complex, conflicted man...