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Article: Mark Twain: a Literary Life.
- Article from:
- Studies in the Novel
- Article date:
- June 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 University of North Texas. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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EMERSON, EVERETT. Mark Twain: A Literary Life. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. 344 pp. $34.95.
Everett Emerson's literary biography of Twain, first of all, is a refreshing "read." Emerson's language clarifies rather than obscures his subject, and his general tone reflects a genuine respect and admiration for Twain and his literary achievements. And while traveling over some common biographical ground, Emerson resists selectively reading Twain into strange and limited patterns of behavior for novelty's sake or as little more than a cultural product of his time. His effort to treat fairly and thoroughly Twain's life and work sets his book ...