
Mark Twain for Book Lovers
On Reading, Writing, and Publishing
R. Kent Rasmussen(Author)
Globe Pequot Press
Will be published approx. on 18. August 2026
Book
Hardback
276 pages
978-1-4930-9703-6 (ISBN)
Description
Mark Twain for Book Lovers is a collection of witty and insightful writings about almost everything connected with them by one of the world’s greatest writers. The breadth of such a volume is assured by the fact that Mark Twain was intimately involved in every aspect of books—from reading, writing, producing, and critiquing to even marketing them. Although Mark Twain grew up poor on the fringe of America’s 19th century frontier and had a limited education, he was a prodigious reader from an early age and became one of history’s great autodidacts. Twain owned over 6,000 books, so it is thus not surprising that he has a great deal to say about books and authors. His connections with books don’t stop with reading and writing them, however. His first profession was as a typesetter—work that gave him an inside view of the mechanics of print production. He had a lifelong interest in automating typesetting, only to lose a fortune by investing in a typesetting invention that he thought would revolutionize the industry. Along the way, he also formed his own book publishing firm to give himself full control of all aspects of the production and marketing of his own books. Also not surprisingly, he has much to say about every aspect of book publishing. Most of the selections will be extracts from longer works—most notably his autobiographical writings—but they will also include some full essays, such as “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses,” “How to Tell a Story,” and “A Magnificent Literary Fossil.” Among the topics covered will be The Bible as literature, buying and selling books, copyright and plagiarism, Twain's favorite and unfavorite authors, grammar and style, tips on writing, and book publishing as a calling.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Old Saybrook
United States
Weight
371 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4930-9703-6 (9781493097036)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
R. Kent Rasmussen is the holder of a UCLA doctorate in history and a retired reference-book editor. He has long been recognized as a leading world authority on Mark Twain, about whom he has published thirteen books. Those volumes include such now-standard reference works as Mark Twain A to Z; its expanded revision, Critical Companion to Mark Twain; and The Quotable Mark Twain. Mark Twain books that he has edited include four volumes of critical essays; several collections of Mark Twain’s own writings, including the Penguin Classics edition of Autobiographical Writings; and Mark Twain for Dog Lovers, a Lyons Press publication. He lives in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Content
FOREWORD BY ALAN GRIBBEN
INTRODUCTION
NOTE ON TEXTS
PART I. READING
1. Sunday-School Books
2. Playing “Robin Hood” by the Book
3. Reading on the River
4. Gift Book Perils
5. Revisiting Old Favorites
PART II. OTHER AUTHORS
6. Brush up Your Shakespeare!
7. Charles Dickens
8. Sir Walter Scott
9. Cooper’s Literary Delirium Tremens
10. Emerson, Longfellow, & Holmes
11. Bret Harte
12. William Dean Howells
13. Humorists
PART III. THE BIBLE
14. Memorizing Bible Verses
15. The Heavy Burden of the Scriptures
16. Sixty Chapters a Day!
17. The Bible House
18. A Pious Politician
19. An Appetite for the Scriptures
PART IV. POETS & POETRY
20. Becoming a Poetry Connoisseur
21. The Poet Lariat: Lord Byron’s Successor?
22. The Sweet Singer of Michigan
23. Obituary Poetry
PART V. CURIOUS BOOKS
24. Chloroform in Print
25. Imperishable Perfection
26. A Strange & Incomprehensible Book
27. A Paradise of the Intellect
PART VI. WRITING
28. ’Prentice Work
29. Literary Début
30. One Method for Writing Books
31. The Finished Book
32. Jack-leg Novelist
33. Punctuation
34. Dialect in Literature
35. Writing Autobiography
PART VII. PIRACY, PLAGIARISM, & COPYRIGHT LAW
36. An English Pirate
37. Copyright Law
38. Unconscious Plagiarism.
39. Owed to a Grecian Urn?
PART VIII. CRITICS & REPORTERS
40. The Most Degraded Trade
41. Too Hateful to Be a Critic
42. Interviewing
43. A Silent Critic?
PART IX. PUBLISHING
44. Antique Compositing
45. Welcome to Book Publishing
46. Failing as a Publisher
47. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Lying
48. The Paige Compositor
PART X. MARKETING
49. The Grant Memoirs
50. The Greatest Book of the Age!
51. Bookselling
52. Shopping for a Book
53. Deep Discounts
IMAGE CREDITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX TO NAMES AND BOOK TITLES
ABOUT THE EDITOR
INTRODUCTION
NOTE ON TEXTS
PART I. READING
1. Sunday-School Books
2. Playing “Robin Hood” by the Book
3. Reading on the River
4. Gift Book Perils
5. Revisiting Old Favorites
PART II. OTHER AUTHORS
6. Brush up Your Shakespeare!
7. Charles Dickens
8. Sir Walter Scott
9. Cooper’s Literary Delirium Tremens
10. Emerson, Longfellow, & Holmes
11. Bret Harte
12. William Dean Howells
13. Humorists
PART III. THE BIBLE
14. Memorizing Bible Verses
15. The Heavy Burden of the Scriptures
16. Sixty Chapters a Day!
17. The Bible House
18. A Pious Politician
19. An Appetite for the Scriptures
PART IV. POETS & POETRY
20. Becoming a Poetry Connoisseur
21. The Poet Lariat: Lord Byron’s Successor?
22. The Sweet Singer of Michigan
23. Obituary Poetry
PART V. CURIOUS BOOKS
24. Chloroform in Print
25. Imperishable Perfection
26. A Strange & Incomprehensible Book
27. A Paradise of the Intellect
PART VI. WRITING
28. ’Prentice Work
29. Literary Début
30. One Method for Writing Books
31. The Finished Book
32. Jack-leg Novelist
33. Punctuation
34. Dialect in Literature
35. Writing Autobiography
PART VII. PIRACY, PLAGIARISM, & COPYRIGHT LAW
36. An English Pirate
37. Copyright Law
38. Unconscious Plagiarism.
39. Owed to a Grecian Urn?
PART VIII. CRITICS & REPORTERS
40. The Most Degraded Trade
41. Too Hateful to Be a Critic
42. Interviewing
43. A Silent Critic?
PART IX. PUBLISHING
44. Antique Compositing
45. Welcome to Book Publishing
46. Failing as a Publisher
47. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Lying
48. The Paige Compositor
PART X. MARKETING
49. The Grant Memoirs
50. The Greatest Book of the Age!
51. Bookselling
52. Shopping for a Book
53. Deep Discounts
IMAGE CREDITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX TO NAMES AND BOOK TITLES
ABOUT THE EDITOR