Mark Twain - Back from the Dead!

June 25, 2001 9:09 PM

Mark Twain - Back from the Dead! I just caught this on the Jim Lehrer News Hour. The tale behind the tale A Murder, A Mystery, and A Marriage. A complete, unpublished manuscript of Mark Twain has surfaced, and after 125 years will finally find its way to the pages of the Atlantic Monthly this summer.
posted by ZachsMind (16 comments total)

Not worthy of note are a few of the less notable times Mark Twain has been mentioned in MetaFilter in the past. Dhartung once called Huck Finn "the Great American Novel, hands down" and he also pointed out that Twain wasn't being racist when he used the word "nigger" in his work. He was brought up a time or two during the Kaycee hoax, which no doubt Twain would have taken immeasurable sadistic glee out of watching everyone scrambling when that happened. Crackedheadmatt once quoted Mark Twain as part of a polygamy defense, which no doubt Twain would have spat at but secretly found amusement. Oh dear me! I myself mentioned him when Douglas Adams passed away. Norm mentioned Mark Twain during a Robert Downey Jr. thread. Kindall once argued Mark Twain's stories, when used in cinema, did not adversely affect the original work. Hal_55 once quoted Twain in a post that rivals the size of my own. There's also some great Mark Twain quotes hidden in MeFi.

"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards." Thanks John

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man." Thanks again John.

This may be the first time Mark Twain has actually been given a MeFi thread all to himself. So again, after 125 years, Mark Twain has finally arrived.
posted by ZachsMind at 9:42 PM on June 25, 2001

i think i've heard about this a while ago via word of mouth of info from some link? yeah, i need to be told about 'some link' which i don't visit.
posted by elle at 10:29 PM on June 25, 2001

[I'm just waiting to see who will be the first to quote (and probably misquote) that tired line -- you know the one. And will "exaggerated" be misspelled? The odds are good.]
posted by pracowity at 12:09 AM on June 26, 2001

I also had the honor of paraphrasing Twain when someone said "you can't polish a turd." ("It wastes your time and annoys the turd.")
posted by kindall at 12:11 AM on June 26, 2001

you hero
posted by redleaf at 1:16 AM on June 26, 2001

There is an edition of Huck Finn out that has added material that was found recently. He took about a decade to write that book because he couldn't come up with a decent ending. The "Tom Sawyer shows up and reveals that Aunt Polly is dead and Jim was freed in the will so the whole trip has been pointless" ending is a bit of a let down. I look forward to reading this story. I love Twain. As most of you know, he also wrote a lot of stuff for adults. His religious satire and travel writings are pretty good. Sometimes he tries too hard to be funny and the jokes don't work because they seem so forced, but I have the same problem, so he's pretty much my idol. I have mixed feelings about Mark Twain stories as movies. They tend to be dumbed down and leave out the best parts. Twain had a great way of showing horrible misery in the middle of otherwise fun adventures. I love that. Thanks for mentioning it. I guess I'll have to buy the Atlantic Monthly when it comes out. How often does it come out? See that was what I mean by a forced joke.
posted by hwright at 4:15 AM on June 26, 2001

As most of you know, he also wrote a lot of stuff for adults.

I wasn't aware that he'd written anything that wasn't for adults...
posted by m.polo at 5:02 AM on June 26, 2001

m.polo: Good point. I should have said primarily for adults, or something like that.
posted by hwright at 5:57 AM on June 26, 2001

There is an edition of Huck Finn out that has added material that was found recently. He took about a decade to write that book because he couldn't come up with a decent ending.

It's the so-called comprehensive edition, put out by Random House. The "missing" pages were culled by Twain himself in order to make "Tom Sawyer" and "Huck Finn" equal-sized volumes that could be sold as a set. Then the pages, divided into two manuscripts, were misplaced or forgotten in storage. Only after a series of lawsuits and negotiations, the pages were reunited and the comprehensive edition made possible. It includes not only cut material, but pictures of the original manuscript.

There is one problem with the comprehensive edition. In the text about the author in both the hardcover and softcover editions, it gives Twain's birthplace as Mississippi. Abosuletly not. Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, a town that no longer exists as it was abandoned ages ago. The land the town once sat on is now under Mark Twain Lake, made from the damming of the Salt River, I believe. There has never been any doubt or controversy surrounding his birthplace; this is clearly a stupid error on the part of the editor.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:43 AM on June 26, 2001

OK, pracowity (see above note): The rumors of Mark Twain's being born somewhere other than Missouri have been greatly exaggerated . . . excuse me, exagerrated (didn't want to disappoint you).
posted by raysmj at 8:25 AM on June 26, 2001

Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, a town that no longer exists as it was abandoned ages ago. The land the town once sat on is now under Mark Twain Lake, made from the damming of the Salt River, I believe.

A few folks still live in and around Florida, I believe, although their address might be Stoutsville or Levi. The original village of Florida is now wholly contained within Mark Twain State Park lands, in Audrain County. It is not, the last time I checked, underwater.
posted by bradlands at 1:07 PM on June 26, 2001

The rumors of Mark Twain's being born in a long-abandoned town in Missouri whose site is now underwater have been at least slightly exaggerated. Oh, now you're getting me all confused!
posted by raysmj at 2:58 PM on June 26, 2001

You're right! As a former resident of Audrian County and a fellow Missourian, I salute you, Mr. Brad, for your knowledge of your state of residence. (Although I remember someone saying they moved the town, I can't find any proof of it. Last time I was in Audrain County they were still filling the lake).

Now the state song!

Hush-a-bye, ma baby, slumber time is comin' soon;
Rest yo' head upon my breast, while mommy hums a tune;
The sandman is callin', where shadows are fallin',
While the soft breezes sigh as in days long gone by...
posted by Mo Nickels at 5:33 PM on June 26, 2001

Audrain, yes, I know. As a former Mexico Ledger paperboy, I know it's Audrain.
posted by Mo Nickels at 5:34 PM on June 26, 2001

Good gravy, Mo, I was raised up in Ralls County! Did I know before that you came from my neck of the woods? Jebus, I nearly ended up teaching at MMA. Small friggin' world, sometimes, but it sure is awful wide.
posted by bradlands at 6:36 PM on June 26, 2001

Ooh. Purty.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:11 AM on June 28, 2001