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Mark Twain

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About Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Missouri in 1835, the son of a lawyer. Early in his childhood, the family moved to Hannibal, Missouri - a town which would provide the inspiration for St Petersburg in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. After a period spent as a travelling printer, Clemens became a river pilot on the Mississippi: a time he would look back upon as his happiest. When he turned to writing in his thirties, he adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain ('Mark Twain' is the cry of a Mississippi boatman taking depth measurements, and means 'two fathoms'), and a number of highly successful publications followed, including The Prince and the Pauper (1882), Huckleberry Finn (1884) and A Connecticut Yankee (1889). His later life, however, was marked by personal tragedy and sadness, as well as financial difficulty. In 1894, several businesses in which he had invested failed, and he was declared bankrupt. Over the next fifteen years - during which he managed to regain some measure of financial independence - he saw the deaths of two of his beloved daughters, and his wife. Increasingly bitter and depressed, Twain died in 1910, aged seventy-five.

Recent updates about Mark Twain

International Literacy Day

Reading is so much fun, why not read Penguin Readers Level 2: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (ELT Graded Reader). Written by Mark Twain, published by Penguin.

2 days ago

Back to school

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain from ##Published## a perfect book for today.

7 days ago

Back to school

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain from ##Published## a perfect book for today.

7 days ago

International Children's Book Day

Today is the day to read this brilliant book (not that you needed an excuse!), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain from Puffin Classics.

5 months ago

Abolition of the Slave Trade

On this day 1807, the British Parliament abolished the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Discover The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Published by Macmillan Collector's Library.

5 months ago

Abolition of the Slave Trade

On this day 1807, the British Parliament abolished the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Discover The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Published by Puffin Classics.

5 months ago

Abolition of the Slave Trade

On this day 1807, the British Parliament abolished the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Discover The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Published by Penguin Random House Children's UK.

5 months ago

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