Mark Twain and Youth Studies in His Life and Writings

by Donnell, Kevin Mac; Rasmussen, Kent

• ISBN13: 9781474225380
• ISBN10: 1474225381
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-07-28
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

One of the greatest American authors, Mark Twain holds a special position not only as a distinctly American cultural icon but also as a preeminent portrayer of youth. His famous writings about children and youthful themes are central to both his work and his popularity.

The distinguished contributors to Mark Twain and Youth make Twain even more accessible to modern readers by fully exploring youth themes in both his life and his extensive writings. The volume's twenty-six original essays offer new perspectives on such important subjects as Twain's boyhood; his relationships with his siblings and his own children; his attitudes toward aging, gender roles, and slavery; the marketing, reception, teaching, and adaptation of his works; and youth themes in his individual novels--Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Joan of Arc. The book also includes a revealing foreword by actor Hal Holbrook, who has performed longer as “Mark Twain” than Samuel Clemens himself did.

Author Biography

Kent Rasmussen is the author or editor of seven books on Mark Twain including Critical Companion to Mark Twain: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work (2007). He is also the author of the introductions to the Penguin Classics editions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2014), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2014) and Mark Twain's Autobiographical Writings (2012). He holds a doctorate in history from UCLA.

Kevin Mac Donnell is an independent scholar and book reviewer for the Mark Twain Forum. He is the co-editor of Mark Twain's Rubyaiyat (1983).

Table of Contents

Foreword
Hal Holbrook

Introduction
The editors

Part 1: Samuel L. Clemens the Man

1 "Mark Twain's Birth Family and Siblings"
Henry Sweets, executive director of Mark Twain's Boyhood Home and Museum

2 "Mark Twain's Boyhood Friends"
Ron Powers, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Mark Twain: A Life

3 "Mark Twain's Youth Acquaintance with Slavery"
Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Stanford University, USA, author of Was Huck Black?

4 "Mark Twain's Reading as a Boy and an Adult"
Alan Gribben, Auburn University, USA, editor of the Mark Twain Journal, author of Mark Twain's Library: A Reconstruction

5 "Children's Health in Mark Twain's Life and Writings"
Pat Ober, MD, independent scholar, author of Mark Twain and Medicine

6 "Sam and Livy Clemens as Parents"
John Bird, Winthrop University, USA, author of Mark Twain and Metaphor

7 "Susy Clemens"
Barb Snedecor, director of Elmira's Center for Mark Twain Studies

8 "Clara Clemens"
Cindy Lovell, executive director of Hartford's Mark Twain House

9 "Jean Clemens"
Karen Lystra, California State University at Fullerton, USA, author of Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years

10 "Mark Twain and Aging"
Holger Kersten, University of Magdeburg, Germany, author of Von Hannibal nach Heidelberg: Mark Twain und die Deutschen

Part 2: Youth in Mark Twain's Writings

11 "Mark Twain and 19th Century Children's Literature"
Lucy Rollin, Clemson University, USA

12 "Gender-bending Themes, Girls and Female Authorities in Mark Twain's Fiction"
Linda Morris, University of California at Davis, USA author of Gender Play in Mark Twain: Cross-dressing and Transgression

13 "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
Joe Csicsila, Eastern Michigan University, USA, co-author of Heretical Fictions: Religion in the Literature of Mark Twain

14 "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
Tom Quirk, University of Missouri, USA author of Mark Twain and Human Nature

15 "Mark Twain's Autobiography"
Ben Griffin and Vic Fischer, University of California at Berkeley, USA, editors of the Mark Twain Papers

16 "The Prince and the Pauper"
Hugh H. Davis, independent scholar

17 "Pudd'nhead Wilson"
Debra MacComb, University of West Georgia, USA

18 "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc"
Ronald Jenn, Lille University, France, author of From American Frontier to European Borders: Publishing French Translations of Mark Twain's Novels Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1884-1963)

19 "Youth and Justice in the Early Sketches and Stories"
David Sloane, University of New Haven, USA, author of Student Companion to Mark Twain

20 "Mark Twain on Adoption and Orphans"
Windelinus Wurth, independent scholar, Germany

21 Overview of Children in Mark Twain's Major Works"
Sharon McCoy, University of Georgia, USA, executive coordinator of the Mark Twain Circle of America

22 "History of Teaching Mark Twain in Schools and Modern Students' Attitudes Toward Him"
John Pascal, Seton Hall Prep School

23 "Mark Twain's Views on Education"
Jocelyn Chadwick, Harvard University, USA author of The Jim Dilemma

24 "Children's Books By and About Mark Twain"
Gregg Camfield, University of California at Merced, USA, author of The Oxford Companion to Mark Twain

25 "Screen Adaptations of Mark Twain's Works"
Mark Dawidziak, independent scholar, author of Horton Foote's "The Shape of the River": The Lost Teleplay About Mark Twain

26 "Youthful Narrators in Mark Twain's Writings"
Bruce Michelson, University of Illinois, USA, author of Mark Twain on the Loose

27 "Mark Twain and the Deceptive Promise of Youth"
Larry Berkove, University of Michigan, USA, co-author of Heretical Fictions: Religion in the Literature of Mark Twain