|
|
books
| book details |
Mark Twain's 1884: A Pivotal Year in the Life
By (author) John Bird
|
|
| on special |
normal price: R 1 921.95
Price: R 1 825.95
|
| book description |
Many biographies of Mark Twain cover his entire life, while others focus on specific periods, especially his later years. In this innovative new work, John Bird takes an entirely different approach. Mark Twain’s 1884: A Pivotal Year in the Life is a “micro-biography†that homes in on a single—and pivotal—year. In 1884, Twain stood at the height of his powers as a writer and enjoyed one of the happiest years in his domestic family life. During the course of the year he was readying his greatest work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, for publication, which occurred in England near the end of the year; he was launching his own publishing house, Charles L. Webster and Company, after becoming disillusioned with his previous publishers; and he publicly embroiled himself in presidential politics in a way that presaged his later involvement with American and international politics. Finally, Twain’s 1884 ended with a great deal more public exposure thanks to an extensive multi-city lecture tour he undertook with George Washington Cable, as well as the beginnings of his ultimately successful attempt to secure publishing rights for Ulysses S. Grant’s memoirs. The level of detail provided by a day-to-day narrative gives the reader a chance to imaginatively live that year in Twain’s life: his work, his family life, his correspondence, his business dealings, his travels, his recreational pursuits, and his political involvement. Bird enlarges upon a great many moments in and aspects of Twain’s life that other biographies barely touch on or ignore completely. In this new approach to biography, Bird gives readers a broader appreciation not only of Mark Twain the author but of Mark Twain the husband, father, uncle, and friend, and national celebrity and persona. Â
| product details |
Normally shipped |
Publisher | University of Missouri Press
Published date | 3 Jul 2026
Language |
Format | Hardback
Pages | 484
Dimensions | 229 x 152 x 43mm (L x W x H)
Weight | 880g
ISBN | 978-0-8262-2357-9
Readership Age |
BISAC | biography & autobiography / literary
| other options |
Normally shipped |
Readership Age |
Normal Price | R 2 436.95
Price | R 2 315.95
| on special |
|
|
To view the items in your trolley please sign in.
| sign in |
|
|
|
| specials |
|
An epic love story with the pulse of a thriller that asks: what would you risk for a second chance at first love?
|
This is indeed a story of mercy and the redemption it offers.
|
Emil Coetzee, a civil servant in his fifties, is washing blood off his hands when the ceasefire is announced.
|
|
|
|
