Mark Twain’s autobiography arrives 100 years after his death
Posted by John Malloy on 10/20/2010
The much anticipated first volume of an autobiography of Mark Twain has finally seen the light of day.
Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, had left instructions that his autobiography could not be published in full until 100 years after his death.
Twain, who died in 1910, had even asked that one portion of the autobiography be held for 500 years after his death. Over the years, publishers have printed portions of his autobiography, including the one that Twain requested be held for half a millennium (it was published in 1963), said Benjamin Griffin, one of the editors of the Autobiography of Mark Twain and associate editor at the Mark Twain Papers & Project.
This 760-page first volume, published by University of California Press, has taken about six years to put together, said Griffin, who was one of the editors working on the project. The principal editor of the first volume is Harriet Elinor Smith, who has praised the work as rewarding and different.
Twain made several attempts to write his autobiography over the course of his life, Griffin said. But it wasn’t until 1904, when he was 69, that he came up with a solution, something he describes as the “Final (And Right) Plan:” talking about whatever interests him at the moment. It is kind of stream of consciousness, said Griffin in an interview with the Star.
“This is not the usual way to write the story of your life,” said Griffin. “It’s an interesting, whimsical way to write. It’s as if he’s making a combined autobiography and diary.”
via Mark Twain’s autobiography arrives 100 years after his death – thestar.com.
Posted by 
