WHY MARK TWAIN

Why Mark Twain

My interest in Mark Twain began coincidentally with the 100th anniversary of his death. I was unaware of this milestone. I was looking for a project close to home. One that I could produce myself, without a deadline. Samuel L. Clemens/Mark Twain, is probably the most researched and written about American author in the past 150 years. It has become an industry, fueled by the volumes of material he left behind which included drafts, letters, clippings, a biographer by Albert Bigelow Paine and a massive autobiography (Volume 1 has recently been published). But my interest in Twain revolves around the flesh and blood Mark Twain, the person who once lived three miles from my house. Who took the train in and out of New York city on the same branch I took into the city for the last 11 years. It's the Mark Twain who wandered extensively about his 250 acre property he called Stormfield. Who's Mediterranean style home, lit by acetylene gas, which burned with the intensity of daylight, and could be seen for miles around. Especially on those late nights he spent entertaining guests or playing billiards.

James