Autobiography of Mark Twain facts for kids

Twain in 1906. He wrote most of his autobiography around this time.

The 1924 edition of the book.

The Autobiography of Mark Twain is a special book by Mark Twain. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. This book shares many stories from his life. Twain didn't write it like a normal book. Instead, he told his stories out loud, and others wrote them down for him. The book was finally published in November 2010. This was 100 years after he passed away.

How Mark Twain's Autobiography Was Made

Mark Twain's autobiography was put together in a unique way. Some parts were written by him. But most of it came from him speaking his memories. His helpers, like his secretaries and youngest daughter, typed what he said. These typed notes are called transcripts.

Different Versions of the Book

There were a few versions of Twain's autobiography. One version was used to publish parts of the book in a magazine called North American Review. Another copy was used for a book edition in 1924. Mark Twain himself checked all these copies carefully. He often added old writings, letters, or newspaper clippings into his spoken stories.

How the 2010 Edition Was Edited

When the 2010 edition was put together, the editor, Harriet Smith, tried to keep Twain's original style. She didn't always change small mistakes. For example, she would point out bad grammar in notes instead of fixing it. She wanted to keep the way Twain spoke. She only corrected things like bad spelling or missing small words to make it easier to read.

What People Thought of the Book

When the Autobiography of Mark Twain came out, many people talked about it. Reviewers said Twain spoke his memories and thoughts to his secretary. This made the book sound very natural and honest. It was different from if he had written it all down himself.

Why This Edition Was Special

Mark Twain passed away on April 21, 1910. He was 74 years old. He wanted his autobiography to be published 100 years after his death. He also wanted it to be published in the random order he told the stories. Earlier versions of the book had changed the order. They also left out some parts. The 2010 edition was published exactly as Twain wanted. It kept the original order and included everything.

Surprising Stories and Success

The University of California Press published the book in three parts. About half of the entire book had never been printed before. Twain shared some surprising opinions in the book. For example, he wrote about meeting President Cleveland at the White House. He also shared his thoughts on things like slavery. He grew up in Missouri where slavery was common. He later realized it was wrong.

The book was very big and had over 500,000 words. It was also very popular. At first, the publisher only planned to print 7,500 copies. But because it was published 100 years after Twain's death, it got a lot of attention. Magazines printed parts of the book before it even came out.

The book quickly sold out. The publisher had to print many more copies. They worked hard to get books to stores in time for holidays. Instead of 7,500 copies, over 275,000 copies were sold in November 2010. This book became the biggest success for the University of California Press in 60 years!

Images for kids

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  Volume 1 of The Mark Twain Project edition