1601 - Conversation as it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors

By Mark Twain

Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors. or simply 1601 is the title of a short risque squib by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880, and finally acknowledged by the author in 1906. Written as an extract from the diary of one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waiting, the pamphlet purports to record a conversation between Elizabeth and several famous writers of the day. The topics discussed are entirely scatological, notably farting and sex.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jovian Press
• Release date: Nov 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781537820132

Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was an American humorist, novelist, and lecturer. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, he was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, a setting which would serve as inspiration for some of his most famous works. After an apprenticeship at a local printer’s shop, he worked as a typesetter and contributor for a newspaper run by his brother Orion. Before embarking on a career as a professional writer, Twain spent time as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi and as a miner in Nevada. In 1865, inspired by a story he heard at Angels Camp, California, he published “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” earning him international acclaim for his abundant wit and mastery of American English. He spent the next decade publishing works of travel literature, satirical stories and essays, and his first novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873). In 1876, he published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a novel about a mischievous young boy growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River. In 1884 he released a direct sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which follows one of Tom’s friends on an epic adventure through the heart of the American South. Addressing themes of race, class, history, and politics, Twain captures the joys and sorrows of boyhood while exposing and condemning American racism. Despite his immense success as a writer and popular lecturer, Twain struggled with debt and bankruptcy toward the end of his life, but managed to repay his creditors in full by the time of his passing at age 74. Curiously, Twain’s birth and death coincided with the appearance of Halley’s Comet, a fitting tribute to a visionary writer whose steady sense of morality survived some of the darkest periods of American history.

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1601

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Conversation as it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors

Mark Twain

JOVIAN PRESS

All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE FIRST PRINTING Verbatim Reprint

FOOTNOTES To Frivolity

PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

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BORN IRREVERENT, SCRAWLED MARK TWAIN on a scratch pad, —like all other people I have ever known or heard of—I am hoping to remain so while there are any reverent irreverences left to make fun of. —[Holograph manuscript of Samuel L. Clemens, in the collection of the F. J. Meine]

Mark Twain was just as irreverent as he dared be, and 1601 reveals his richest expression of sovereign contempt for overstuffed language, genteel literature, and conventional idiocies. Later, when a magazine editor apostrophized, O that we had a Rabelais! Mark impishly and anonymously—submitted 1601; and that same editor, a praiser of Rabelais, scathingly abused it and the sender. In this episode, as in many others, Mark Twain, the bad boy of American literature, revealed his huge delight in blasting the shams of contemporary hypocrisy. Too, there was always the spirit of Tom Sawyer deviltry in Mark’s make-up that prompted him, as he himself boasted, to see how much holy indignation he could stir up in the world.

WHO WROTE 1601?

The correct and complete title of 1601, as first issued, was: [Date, 1601.] ‘Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors.’ For many years after its anonymous first issue in 1880, its authorship was variously conjectured and widely disputed. In Boston, William T. Ball, one of the leading theatrical critics during the late 90’s, asserted that it was originally written by an English actor (name not divulged) who gave it to him. Ball’s original, it was said, looked like a newspaper strip in the way it was printed, and may indeed have been a proof pulled in some newspaper office. In St. Louis, William Marion Reedy, editor of the St. Louis Mirror, had seen this famous tour de force circulated in the early 80’s in galley-proof form; he first learned from Eugene Field that it was from the pen of Mark Twain.

Many people, said Reedy, thought the thing was done by Field and attributed, as a joke, to Mark Twain. Field had a perfect genius for that sort of thing, as many extant specimens attest, and for that sort of practical joke; but to my thinking the humor of the piece is too mellow—not hard and bright and bitter—to be Eugene Field’s. Reedy’s opinion hits off the fundamental difference between these two great humorists; one half suspects that Reedy was thinking of Field’s French Crisis.

But Twain first claimed his bantling from the fog of anonymity in 1906, in a letter addressed to Mr. Charles Orr, librarian of Case Library, Cleveland. Said Clemens, in the course of his letter, dated July 30, 1906, from Dublin, New Hampshire:

"The title of the piece is 1601. The piece is a supposititious conversation which takes place in Queen Elizabeth’s closet in that year, between the Queen, Ben Jonson, Beaumont, Sir Walter Raleigh, the Duchess of Bilgewater, and one or two

Reviews for 1601 - Conversation as it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors

[wildbill_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an hysterically funny little story by Mark Twain. Queen Elizabeth I is having some people over and all of a sudden there is a great noisy and smelly fart in the room. The Queen goes around the room asking who did it and finally finds the culprit who apologizes that it is so puny. At one point where no one has admitted the deed the Queen exclaims, "Hath it come that a fart shall far itself ?. There is also some sexual double entendre for a few more laughs. I still laugh out loud every time I read it.

[harmless_dilettante · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Have you been searching for a courtly, Elizabethan dialog on farts and sex with a really broad dirty joke thrown in for good measure? Then this is the booklet you've been looking for!Otherwise... well at least it's short.

[sahara20_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The introductory essay in this book is far more interesting than the story it is about.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story itself, is entertaining. Lots of words on farts and farting. Humorous, but very brief.I ordered this on Amazon, and was very disappointed. My copy was out of order! After page 24, the page order jumps all over the place, often in a backwards order! Shoddy work.The first 27 pages of this book are background! And the last bit is about the work itself. So, there is approximately 7 pages to the tale. Do yourself a favor - find it on the internet and save your money.