Mark Twain was his pen name; his real name was Samuel Clemens. He died in 1910 at age 74. I first discovered his book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” when I was in the fourth grade. I absolutely loved it and soon devoured its sequel, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Mark Twain inspired me to write even at that early age. I thought his novels were hilarious. I recently re-read both of these books and enjoyed them just as much at my advanced age now.
Whether he was describing the famous fence white-washing scene in Tom Sawyer, his crush on Becky Thatcher or the adventures Huck had with the slave Jim in Huckleberry Finn, his humor was without rival in my opinion.
Mark Twain worked at various jobs including typesetter, riverboat pilot, and reporter. In 1865 while working as a reporter, he wrote a short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” that jump-started his career as a writer. He achieved great success during his lifetime as a writer, and his wit made him in demand as a public speaker.
Mark Twain gave some pretty good advice about finding job in one of his writings, which might benefit people today with the economy the way it is. He said to offer to work for the company absolutely free of charge. Then if they liked your work, they would hire you. He said it more eloquently than that of course, and you can read about it in “Mark Twain’s Autobiography” published in 1924. He banned some of his writings for his autobiography from being published for 100 years so that he would feel freer to express his thoughts. The first of this 3 volume set of writings was published in 2010, the 100th year anniversary of his death.
Mark Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri and you can still visit Mark Twain’s boyhood home in Hannibal today. Hannibal was also the setting for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.
If you have not done so for a while, it is worthwhile to read his works again.