Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 - The Complete and Authoritative Edition

Mark Twain's final and uncensored masterpiece, presented in three volumes, is a landmark publication in American literature.

"Twain will begin to seem strange again, alluring and still astonishing . . . in ways that still resonate with us."--New York Times

"His crystalline humor and expansive range are a continuous source of delight and awe."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"I've struck it!" Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. "And I will give it away--to you. You will never know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to dictating your autobiography." Thus, after dozens of false starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his "Final (and Right) Plan" for telling the story of his life. His innovative notion--to "talk only about the thing which interests you for the moment"--meant that his thoughts could range freely. The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent," and that he was therefore free to speak his "whole frank mind." The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain's death. In celebration of this important milestone and in honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain's works, UC Press is proud to offer for the first time Mark Twain's uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly as he left it. This major literary event brings to readers, admirers, and scholars the first of three volumes and presents Mark Twain's authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.

Editors:

Harriet E. Smith, Benjamin Griffin, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Sharon K. Goetz, Leslie Myrick

About the author

Harriet Elinor Smith is an editor at the Mark Twain Project, which is housed within the Mark Twain Papers, the world's largest archive of primary materials by this major American writer. Under the direction of General Editor Robert H. Hirst, the Project's editors are producing the first comprehensive edition of all of Mark Twain's writings.

Product details

• Authors: Mark Twain
• Assisted by: Fischer Victor (Editor), Michael Barry Frank (Editor), Goetz Sharon K. (Editor), Griffin Benjamin (Editor), Hirst Robert (Editor), Myrick Leslie Diane (Editor), Smith Harriet E. (Editor)
• Publisher: University Presses
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.05.2026
• EAN: 9780520430884
• ISBN: 978-0-520-43088-4
• No. of pages: 760
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 254 mm x 63 mm
• Illustrations: 34 b-w illustrations
• Series: Mark Twain Papers
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; USA, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures, English, LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 19th Century, Autobiography: literary, Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900, United States of America, USA, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Autobiography: writers, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form