A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court[亚瑟王法庭中的康涅狄格美国佬]

MarkTwainRiverboatpilot,journalist,failedbusinessman(severaltimesover):SamuelClemens--themanbehindthefigureof“MarkTwain”--ledmanylives.ButitwasinhisnovelsandshortstoriesthathecreatedavoiceandanoutlookonlifethatwillbeforeveridentifiedwiththeAmericancharacter.BiographyMarkTwainwasbornSamuelLanghorneClemensonNovember30,1835,inFlorida,Missouri;hisfamilymovedtotheporttownofHannibalfouryearslater.Hisfather,anunsuccessfulfarmer,diedwhenTwainwaseleven.Soonafterwardtheboybeganworkingasanapprenticeprinter,andbyagesixteenhewaswritingnewspapersketches.HeleftHannibalateighteentoworkasanitinerantprinterinNewYork,Philadelphia,St.Louis,andCincinnati.From1857to1861heworkedonMississippisteamboats,advancingfromcubpilottolicensedpilot.AfterrivershippingwasinterruptedbytheCivilWar,TwainheadedwestwithhisbrotherOrion,whohadbeenappointedsecretarytotheNevadaTerritory.SettlinginCarsonCity,hetriedhisluckatprospectingandwrotehumorouspiecesforarangeofnewspapers.AroundthistimehefirstbeganusingthepseudonymMarkTwain,derivedfromariverboatterm.RelocatingtoSanFrancisco,hebecamearegularnewspapercorrespondentandacontributortotheliterarymagazinetheGoldenEra.Hemadeafive-monthjourneytoHawaiiin1866andthefollowingyeartraveledtoEuropetoreportonthefirstorganizedtouristcruise.TheCelebratedJumpingFrogofCalaverasCountyandOtherSketches(1867)consolidatedhisgrowingreputationashumoristandlecturer.AfterhismarriagetoLivyLangdon,TwainsettledfirstinBuffalo,NewYork,andthenfortwodecadesinHartford,Connecticut.HisEuropeansketcheswereexpandedintoTheInnocentsAbroad(1869),followedbyRoughingIt(1872),anaccountofhisWesternadventures;bothwereenormouslysuccessful.Twain'sliterarytriumphswereoffsetbyoftenill-advisedbusinessdealings(hesankthousandsofdollars,forinstance,inafailedattempttodevelopanewkindoftypesettingmachine,andthousandsmoreintohisownultimatelyunsuccessfulpublishinghouse)andunrestrainedspendingthatlefthiminfrequentfinancialdifficulty,apatternthatwastopersistthroughouthislife.FollowingTheGildedAge(1873),writtenincollaborationwithCharlesDudleyWarner,TwainbeganaliteraryexplorationofhischildhoodmemoriesoftheMississippi,resultinginatrioofmasterpieces--TheAdventuresofTomSawyer(1876),LifeontheMississippi(1883),andfinallyTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn(1885),onwhichhehadbeenworkingfornearlyadecade.Anothervein,ofhistoricalromance,foundexpressioninThePrinceandthePauper(1882),thesatiricalAConnecticutYankeeinKingArthur'sCourt(1889),andPersonalRecollectionsofJoanofArc(1896),whilehecontinuedtodrawonhistravelexperiencesinATrampAbroad(1880)andFollowingtheEquator(1897).HiscloseassociatesintheseyearsincludedWilliamDeanHowells,BretHarte,andGeorgeWashingtonCable,aswellasthedyingUlyssesS.Grant,whomTwainencouragedtocompletehismemoirs,publishedbyTwain'spublishingcompanyin1885.Formostofthe1890sTwainlivedinEurope,ashislifetookadarkerturnwiththedeathofhisdaughterSusyin1896andtheworseningillnessofhisdaughterJean.ThetoneofTwain'swritingalsoturnedprogressivelymorebitter.TheTragedyofPudd'nheadWilson(1894),adetectivestoryhingingontheconsequencesofslavery,wasfollowedbypowerfulanti-imperialistandanticolonialstatementssuchas'TothePersonSittinginDarkness'(1901),'TheWarPrayer'(1905),and'KingLeopold'sSoliloquy'(1905),andbythepessimisticsketchescollectedintheprivatelypublishedWhatIsMan?(1906).TheunfinishednovelTheMysteriousStrangerwasperhapsthemostuncompromisinglydarkofallTwain'slaterworks.Inhislastyears,hisfinancialtroublesfinallyresolved,TwainsettlednearRedding,Connecticut,anddiedinhismansion,Stormfield,onApril21,1910.AuthorbiographycourtesyofRandomHouse,Inc.