The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
By Mark Twain
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Twain compiled this collection of thirty-eight short stories, humorous observations, and other writings from his long career in 1906. The last such volume published during his lifetime, it is a must-read for lovers of American literature and anyone who appreciates the humorist's art.
Mark Twain
Who Was Mark Twain? Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens (1835 -1910), was the celebrated author of several novels, including two major classics of American literature: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor. Early Life Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the tiny village of Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835, the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to nearby Hannibal, a bustling river town of 1,000 people. John Clemens worked as a storekeeper, lawyer, judge and land speculator, dreaming of wealth but never achieving it, sometimes finding it hard to feed his family. He was an unsmiling fellow; according to one legend, young Sam never saw his father laugh. His mother, by contrast, was a fun-loving, tenderhearted homemaker who whiled away many a winter's night for her family by telling stories. She became head of the household in 1847 when John died unexpectedly. The Clemens family "now became almost destitute," wrote biographer Everett Emerson, and was forced into years of economic struggle - a fact that would shape the career of Twain. Twain in Hannibal Twain stayed in Hannibal until age 17. The town, situated on the Mississippi River, was in many ways a splendid place to grow up. Steamboats arrived there three times a day, tooting their whistles; circuses, minstrel shows and revivalists paid visits; a decent library was available; and tradesmen such as blacksmiths and tanners practiced their entertaining crafts for all to see. However, violence was commonplace, and young Twain witnessed much death: When he was nine years old, he saw a local man murder a cattle rancher, and at 10 he watched an enslaved person die after a white overseer struck him with a piece of iron. Hannibal inspired several of Twain's fictional locales, including "St. Petersburg" in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. These imaginary river towns are complex places: sunlit and exuberant on the one hand, but also vipers' nests of cruelty, poverty, drunkenness, loneliness and soul-crushing boredom - all parts of Twain's boyhood experience. Sam kept up his schooling until he was about 12 years old, when - with his father dead and the family needing a source of income - he found employment as an apprentice printer at the Hannibal Courier, which paid him with a meager ration of food. In 1851, at 15, he got a job as a printer and occasional writer and editor at the Hannibal Western Union, a little newspaper owned by his brother, Orion. Steamboat Pilot Then, in 1857, 21-year-old Twain fulfilled a dream: He began learning the art of piloting a steamboat on the Mississippi. A licensed steamboat pilot by 1859, he soon found regular employment plying the shoals and channels of the great river. Twain loved his career - it was exciting, well-paying and high-status, roughly akin to flying a jetliner today. However, his service was cut short in 1861 by the outbreak of the Civil War, which halted most civilian traffic on the river. As the Civil War began, the people of Missouri angrily split between support for the Union and the Confederate States. Twain opted for the latter, joining the Confederate Army in June 1861 but serving for only a couple of weeks until his volunteer unit disbanded. Where, he wondered then, would he find his future? What venue would bring him both excitement and cash? His answer: the great American West.
Related to The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
Related ebooks
How to Tell a Story (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe American Claimant (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristian Science (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gilded Age (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTom Sawyer Abroad; Tom Sawyer, Detective (Barnes & Noble Digital Library): and Other Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sketches New and Old (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Innocents Abroad (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPersonal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures of Huckleberry Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mark Twain Deluxe Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain's Letters - Volume 1 (1835-1866) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEurope and Elsewhere Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain's Letters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Legends: The Life of Mark Twain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaming the Bicycle (Barnes & Noble Digital Library): And Other Essays, Stories, and Sketches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Mark Twain's "The Autobiography of Mark Twain" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLighting Out for the Territory: How Samuel Clemens Headed West and Became Mark Twain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Study Guide to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Other Works by Mark Twain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAt the Dangerous Edge of Social Justice: Race, Violence and Death in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain's Letters — Volume 1 (1835-1866) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Made Grave Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prince and the Pauper (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaming the Bicycle (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGold Miners & Guttersnipes: Tales of California Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pudd'nhead Wilson Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Short Stories For You
Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Birds: Erotica Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: A Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Years of the Best American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Skeleton Crew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ficciones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Five Tuesdays in Winter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Past Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lovecraft Country: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Night Side of the River Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex and Erotic: Hard, hot and sexy Short-Stories for Adults Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sour Candy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Scorched Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
0 ratings0 reviews