Twain scholar Robert Hirst shares what parts of Twain's life were so controversial that America's most celebrated writer didn't want to come out until a century after his death.By Up to Date
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Before his death, Twain left instructions that some of the most controversial and inflammatory sections not be published until 100 years after his death.
The 100 years has passed, and all that new material is going into the three-volume, 5,000-page Autobiography of Mark Twain: The Complete and Authoritative Edition,which will be released in three volumes. The 760-page first volume includes Twain's thoughts on many of his contemporaries, including those expressed in the following excerpt:
"(Financier and railroad developer) Jay Gould was the mightiest disaster which has ever befallen this country. The people had desired money before his day, but he taught them to fall down and worship it. They had respected men of means before his day, but along with this respect was joined the respect due to the character and industry which had accumulated it. But Jay Gould taught the entire nation to make a god of the money and the man, no matter how the money might have been acquired."
Steve Kraske welcomes Twain scholar Robert Hirst to speak about? what kind of things were so controversial that America's most celebrated writer didn't want to come out until a century after his death.
Additional Information:
Robert HirstRobert H. Hirst, Ph.D. is the General Editor and Official Curator of the Mark Twain Project and Papers, housed at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the editor of Who Is Mark Twain? (HarperStudio), a collection of 24 wickedly funny, thought provoking essays and stories by Twain, none of which have ever been published before -- and all of which are steeped in contemporary relevance and humor. As 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain's death, Who Is Mark Twain? kicks off a year of celebrations for one of America's most beloved literary icons.