A fascinating collection of essays brings the founding father of American humor—Mark Twain—to life through the rich visual context of his time: books, documents, and ephemera.
A First-Class Fool examines Samuel Clemens's emergence as a humorist and how "Mark Twain" continues to influence humor to this day. The story is richly illustrated with numerous books, manuscripts, art, photographs, and other rare materials from Susan Jaffe Tane’s private Mark Twain collection, including many heretofore unpublished pieces.
Contributors include John Bird, Julie Carlsen, James Caron, Mark Dawidziak, Kerry Driscoll, Gabriel Mckee, Kevin Mac Donnell, and Susan Jaffe Tane.
Preface
by Susan Jaffe Tane /
Introduction
by Susan Jaffe Tane, Julie Carlsen, Gabriel Mckee /
Introduction to the Essays
by Kevin Mac Donnell /
“Jim Smiley’s Jumping Frog” and Mark Twain’s Leap to Fame
by Joe B. Fulton /
Mark Twain’s Literature for Younger Readers
by John Bird /
Mark Twain’s Audiences and Voices
by David E. E. Sloane /
Mark Twain’s Journalism
by Benjamin Griffin /
“Yrs Truly, SLC”: Mark Twain’s Letters
by Barbara E. Snedecor /
Twain on Stage: Lectures and Speeches
by Mark Dawidziak /
Mark Twain Abroad: Travel Writing
by Alan Gribben /
Mark Twain Commodified
by Judith Yaross Lee /
The Western Experience
by James E. Caron /
Twain’s Autobiography and Other Nonfiction
by R. Kent Rasmussen /
Mark Twain Influenced; Mark Twain, Influencer
by Kevin Mac Donnell /
Our Wild Indians: A Writer’s Sourcebook
by Kerry Driscoll /
Banning, Editing, and Censoring Huckleberry Finn
by Nichole Misako Nomura /
Mark Twain at Play
by Gabriel Mckee /
What’s in a Name?: Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain
by Julie Carlsen
Works Cited /
Humorous Highlights from the Mark Twain Collection of Susan Jaffe Tane /
About the Essayists /
Photography Credits /
Index /
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