The Unabridged Mark Twain 2

by Samuel Langborne Clemens

These hefty collections of favorite authors feature their best work, reset from the original first editions that were approved by the authors themselves.

Includes:
"A Burlesque Biography"
"The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson"
"The Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins"
"The Awful German Language"
"Life on the Mississippi"
"A Medieval Romance"
"Extracts from Adam's Diary"
"Eve's Diary"
"Roughing It"
"How To Tell a Story"
"A Curious Dream"
"My late Senatorial Secretaryship"
"A Mysterious Visit"
"Journalism in Tennessee"
"A Visit to Niagara"
"The Experiences of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup"
"Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning"
"The Stolen White Elephant"
"Legend of Sagenfeld in Germany"
"Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion"
"Travelling with a Reformer"
"The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton"
"The $30,000 Bequest"
"Curing a Cold"
"Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy"
"The Canvasser's Tale"
"At the Appetite-Cure"
"Petition to Congress"

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Literature, Historical Fiction, Politics, Philosophy

1118 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is huge. It was old paperback and it broke into a couple of large pieces… but that made it easier to read so I don’t mind really. Pudd’nhead Wilson is a challenging read for a modern person…is Mr. Twain successfully challenging the construct of race or reinforcing it? I can’t answer that for you.. I won’t try. You need to read it yourself.

I tend to think the US history doesn’t interest me much. I like my history to be older. I did enjoy this though from a historical perspective. Both “Life on the Mississippi” and “Roughing It” give these first hand accounts of life in those place and those times and with all the wit and observational mastery of Mr Twain… of course he is a notorious teller of tall tales so am I understanding what bits are true and what are lies (jokes)? For example, I think I missed how much of the gold rush was pure speculation zero gold mining… it makes sense though and so American.

I, like others, had only read Tom and Huck. It is worth it to dig a little deeper so you can really understand why there are awards named after this writer.

[Tinquerbelle]

1) A Burlesque Biography
2) The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson
3) The Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins
4) The Awful German Language
5) Life on the Mississippi
6) A Medieval Romance
7) Extracts from Adam's Diary
8) Eve's Diary
9) Roughing it
10) How to Tell a Story
11) A Curious Dream
12) My Late Senatorial Secretaryship
13) A Mysterious Visit
14) The Experiences of the McWillamses with Membranous Croup
15) Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning
16) The Stolen White Elephant
17) Legend of Sagenfeld, in Germany
18) Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion
19) Travelling with a Reformer
20) The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton
21) the $30,000 Bequest
22) Curing a Cold
23) Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy
24) The Canvasser's Tale
25) At the Appetite-Cure
26) Petition to Congress

[Tinquerbelle]

1) "After" Jenkins
2) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
3) The Innocents Abroad
4) The Undertaker's Chat
5) The Danger of Lying in Bed
6) Lionizing Murderers
7) A True Story Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It
8) An Encounter with an Interviewer
9) About Barbers
10) The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut
11) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
12) The Journals of Germany
13) The Prince and the Pauper
14) On the Decay of the Art of Lying
15) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
16) The Private History of a Campaign That Failed
17) The 41,000,000 Bank Note
18) Playing Courier
19) Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses
20) The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminating the American Soul Through Satire

Mark Twain's works provide a vivid and often critical portrayal of American society, its flaws, and its contradictions. His work as a whole reflects on the nature of cultural differences and the human condition. Where there is ignorance reflected, it transcends race and class differences. Likewise, Twain reflects the beauty and innocence all around him in people from all walks of life. Throughout his writings, Twain's keen observations and sharp social commentary often targeted the prevailing beliefs, institutions, and hypocrisies of his time. He exposed the flaws of human nature, the follies of society, and the corrupting influence of power. Twain's writings are characterized by a deep understanding of human psychology, a penchant for satire and irony, and a desire to provoke thought and challenge conventional wisdom. He is one of the most significant and enduring figures in American literature.

This second volume contains a few comical novels, as well as some semi-autobiographical travelogues. There are also many short stories that involve a heavy dose of Twain's signature satirical style. But, his wit does not nap even in his travelogues. The current generation may find works like Life on the Mississippi and Roughing It a bit dry at first in comparison to Twain's delightfully inventive fiction. But, there is much to love in even those. Just allow yourself extra time to read patiently, over a longer span of time, and you will find a wealth of imagination in these slices of Americana.

Twain was an abolitionist, and he met numerous world figures in his time. Much of his writing reveals what it was like for people of all ages and races living in the nineteenth century. Reading Roughing It, particularly, revealed what it was like for an American man in his age moving around the country trying to do the simple day to day tasks of making a living in a new country. Life on the Mississippi takes the reader all along the Mississippi River, stopping in all the towns along the way. While describing the world of the river as it was then, he never fails to interject his own sense of humor in the mishaps and adventures that the author experienced in his own life on the river.

"If the reader thinks he is done, now, and that this book has no moral to it, he is in error. The moral of it is this:
If you are of any account, stay at home and make your way by faithful diligence; but if you are "no account,'' go away from home, and then you will have to work, whether you want to or not. Thus you become a blessing to your friends by ceasing to be a nuisance to them--if the people you go among suffer by the operation." - The last words from Twain's novel Roughing It

I said in the other review that 'whether he is writing about a recherche donkey and a rebel gang in the Civil War, or what would be today a $25,000 Grand Tour of Europe, or disobedient boys and fussing Aunts; Twain will have your attention with the scenes and the sinners and saints of his boyhood in Nineteenth Century America.' To that list of sinners and saints this volume adds journalists, biographers, miners, and adventurers heading West, and the likes of Twain himself (Samuel Clemens.) These are a two volume set, both huge books. This volume took about two and a half months to read. It gives publication info before each work in the volume. I am listing below the complete Table of Contents for this book.

TOC of Volume 2:
A Burlesque Biography
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson
The Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins
The Awful German Language
Life on the Mississippi
A Medieval Romance
Extracts from Adam's Diary
Eve's Diary
Roughing It
How To Tell a Story
A Curious Dream
My Late Senatorial Secretaryship
A Mysterious Visit
Journalism in Tennessee
A Visit to Niagara
The Experiences of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup
Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning
The Stolen White Elephant
Legend of Sagenfeld, in Germany
Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion
Travelling with a Reformer
The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton
The $30,000 Bequest
Curing a Cold
Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy
The Canvasser's Tale
At the Appetite-Cure
Petition to Congress