Malcolm Muggeridge, the late
British journalist, author and editor of Britain's late, great weekly satirical
magazine, Punch, once said that he never tired of reading Mark Twain, or
reading about him.
Although I don’t always agree with Mark Twain’s worldview, I share that notion. Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers.
Although I don’t always agree with Mark Twain’s worldview, I share that notion. Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers.
So I was pleased to be able
to review a book about Mark Twain, Richard Zacks' Chasing the Last Laugh: Mark
Twain's Raucous and Redemptive Round-the-World Comedy Tour, for the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
When I was a teenager, I read
Mark Twain's Following the Equator, and I reread it a few years back. Richard
Zacks' Chasing the Last Laugh essentially covers the same material the master
himself wrote about in his 1897 book - greatly augmented by Zacks' excellent
research.
From Equator, we get Twain's
opinions on colonialism, imperialism, class warfare, British arrogance, and
decimation of native peoples. Zacks adds passages from Twain's letters and
notebooks, as well as photos and other material at the Mark Twain Project at
the University of California, Berkeley, and the Clifton Waller Barrett
Collection at the University of Virginia. There is also a local connection:
Zacks was advised on 1890s bankruptcy law by University of Pennsylvania
professor David A. Skeel.
The result is an interesting,
often funny book about a traumatic and fascinating time in Twain's life. Twain
(Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was the highest-paid writer in America in 1894, but
he was also a terrible investor. He lost most of his fortune from his books on
inventions and investments that didn't work out. His wife, an heiress, was
horrified. She insisted Twain pay back his investors. So, at age 59, he
traveled across America and embarked on a world public speaking tour, which had
never been done before.
You can read the review via the below link:
Or read the review below:
R.T.,
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Ole Huck is my favorite Twain novel, and I believe it is an uneven novel, but still a great one.
I'm also very fond of Twain's "Roughing It" and "Life On the Mississippi."
Paul
PS: How is your health? Improving?