From the Introduction:It should always be with some misgivings that an editor presents to the public materials which an author has discarded. By returning the materials to his files, the author has voted against publication. By resurrecting them, the editor risks exposing the author to the adverse criticism which he wished to avoid. But, at the same time, the resurrection serves a valuable purpose by making available indispensable evidence to be used by those seeking to understand the creative process. It is because they serve such a purpose that the texts published in this volume have been salvaged from Mark Twain's files. Indeed, they are doubly valuable because they aid in dispelling a myth about his own creative process which Twain himself did much to establish. In several instances Twain gave the impression that for him plotting a novel was a rather simple affair. . . . But in actuality, as the texts published in this volume illustrate, he experienced much more trouble than this statement would suggest in delimiting his fictional world, establishing its nature, and maintaining control over the characters placed therin.

This work is not a regular autobiography but a witty little piece about the American writer and humorist Mark Twain's fictional family tree. Moreover, the illustrations form an exciting aspect of this book. They have no relationship to the book's text but use cartoons depicting a children's poem. It is Twain's interesting, comical take on his autobiography.

Focusing on the overarching theme of religious satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this study reveals the novel's hidden motive, moral and plot. The author considers generations of criticism spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, along with new textual evidence showing how Twain's richly evocative style dissects Huck's conscience to propose humane amorality as a corrective to moral absolutes. Jim and Huck emerge as archetypal twins--biracial brothers who prefigure America's color-blind ideals.

Mark Twain is revealed here in an entirely new autobiographical light from his own writings as they reflect his career, his thinking, and his humor. This volume captures the grandeur that distinguishes Mark Twain as, in the words of George Bernard Shaw, “by far the greatest American writer.” Made up of short stories and excerpts from Twain’s principal works, this collection demonstrates Twain’s artistry in handling anecdotes, tales, description, and characterization; the fervency of his ethical convictions; his effective use of irony, satire, burlesque, and caricature; and his essential humanity. By arranging the materials in chronological order and weaving them together with critical commentary, the editors present the many facets of Mark Twain’s experience and his dynamic personality with greater continuity than in previous collections of Twain’s writings. Here is the optimism of the young Mark Twain responding to the rough and rugged vitality of the mid-nineteenth-century American scene, and the skepticism and pessimism of the older Mark Twain reacting to the American democratic experiment of the late nineteenth century.