*A Guardian Best Biography of the Year* The complex and fascinating life of Mark Twain as told
by a Pulitzer prizewinning biographer Born in 1835 the man who would become America's first
and most influential literary celebrity spent his childhood dreaming of piloting steamboats
on the Mississippi. But when the Civil War interrupted his career on the river the young Mark
Twain went west and accepted a job at the local newspaper writing dispatches that attracted
attention for their brashness and humour. It wasn't long until the former steamboat pilot from
Missouri was recognized across the country for his literary brilliance. In this rich and
nuanced portrait of Twain Ron Chernow brings his powers to bear on a man who shamelessly
sought fame and fortune and crafted his persona with meticulous care. After establishing
himself as a journalist satirist and performer and a family man Twain went on to write The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . He threw himself into the
epicentre of American culture emerging as the nation's most notable political pundit and the
only white author of his generation to grapple so fully with the legacy of slavery. At the same
time his madcap business ventures eventually bankrupted him and led him and his family to nine
years of exile between London France Germany and Italy. During this time he lost his wife
and two daughters - the last stage of his life marked by heartache political crusades and
eccentric behaviour that sometimes obscured darker forces at play. Drawing on Twain's
bountiful archives including thousands of letters and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts
Chernow here captures the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original
characters in literary history reminding us why Twain's writing continues to be read debated
and quoted over a hundred years after his passing.
