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107-590: The donations were to be made with the idea that an educational duty was owing to the African Americans that had become a part of the population of the United States upon the abolition of slavery. The lecture at Carnegie Hall was in honor of the "silver jubilee" celebration, or 25 years since Tuskegee Institute was founded in April 1881. The lecture took place on January 23, 1906, and was reported on

214-462: A copyright . In 1883, Twain paid a brief visit to Ottawa , and he visited Toronto twice in 1884 and 1885 on a reading tour with George Washington Cable , known as the "Twins of Genius" tour. The reason for the Toronto visits was to secure Canadian and British copyrights for Twain's upcoming book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , to which he had alluded in his Montreal visit. The reason for

321-836: A stagecoach across the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains , visiting the Mormon community in Salt Lake City . Twain's journey ended in the silver-mining town of Virginia City, Nevada , where he became a miner on the Comstock Lode . Twain failed as a miner and went to work at the Virginia City newspaper Territorial Enterprise , working under a friend, the writer Dan DeQuille . Twain first used his pen name here on February 3, 1863, when he wrote

428-576: A time traveler from the contemporary U.S., using his knowledge of science to introduce modern technology to Arthurian England. This type of historical manipulation became a trope of speculative fiction as alternate histories . In 1909, Thomas Edison visited Twain at Stormfield , his home in Redding, Connecticut and filmed him. Part of the footage was used in The Prince and the Pauper (1909),

535-722: A "wealthy but liberal family"; through her, Twain met abolitionists , "socialists, principled atheists and activists for women's rights and social equality ", including Harriet Beecher Stowe , Frederick Douglass , and utopian socialist writer William Dean Howells , who became a long-time friend. The Clemenses lived in Buffalo, New York , from 1869 to 1871. Twain owned a stake in the Buffalo Express newspaper and worked as an editor and writer. While they were living in Buffalo, their son Langdon died of diphtheria in 1872 at

642-561: A Canadian resident; Twain addressed this by his short visits to the country. In his later years, Twain lived at 14 West 10th Street in Manhattan . He passed through a period of deep depression which began in 1896 when his daughter Susy died of meningitis . Olivia's death in 1904 and Jean's on December 24, 1909, deepened Twain's gloom. On May 20, 1909, his close friend Henry Rogers died suddenly. In April 1906, Twain heard that his friend Ina Coolbrith had lost nearly all that she owned in

749-469: A Doctorate of Law in 1907. Twain was born two weeks after Halley's Comet 's closest approach in 1835; he said in 1909: I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together". Twain's prediction

856-608: A Second Lieutenant . Twain later wrote the sketch " The Private History of a Campaign That Failed ", describing how he and his friends had been Confederate volunteers for two weeks before their unit disbanded. Twain then left for Nevada to work for his brother Orion, who was Secretary of the Nevada Territory . Twain describes the episode in his book Roughing It . Orion became secretary to Nevada Territory governor James W. Nye in 1861, and Twain joined him when he moved west. The brothers traveled more than two weeks on

963-416: A Time features Hank Morgan. He is introduced in the episode " Dreamcatcher " as Sir Morgan, a widower with a teenage daughter, Violet, living in a Camelot that exists in a magical reality. Violet becomes a love interest for main character Henry Mills . Morgan does not appear on-screen again but is mentioned in later episodes. He and Violet, along with other Camelot residents, are transported to Storybrooke in

1070-478: A baby. When the child falls critically ill, Hank's doctors advise him to take his family overseas while the baby recovers. In reality, it is a ploy by the Catholic Church to get Hank out of the country. During the weeks that Hank is absent, Arthur discovers Guinevere 's infidelity with Lancelot. That causes a war between Lancelot and Arthur, who is eventually killed by Sir Mordred . The Church then places

1177-428: A bargain with the king, is released, and becomes the second most powerful person in the kingdom. (Twain may have drawn inspiration for that part of the story from a historical incident in which Christopher Columbus exploited foreknowledge of a lunar eclipse .) Hank is given the position of principal minister to the king and is treated by all with the utmost fear and awe. He proclaims that his only income will be taken as

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1284-500: A blow to the head, awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England , where he meets King Arthur. Many passages are quoted directly from Sir Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur , a late medieval collection of Arthurian legends that constitutes one of the main sources on the myth of King Arthur and Camelot . The frame narrator is a 19th-century man (ostensibly Mark Twain himself) who meets Hank Morgan in modern times and begins reading Hank's book in

1391-399: A brief tale of Sir Lancelot of Camelot and his role in slaying two giants from the third-person narrative , taken directly from Le Morte d'Arthur , Hank Morgan enters and is persuaded to reveal more of his story. Hank is a superintendent because of his proficiency in firearms manufacturing, with 2,000 subordinates. During a disagreement with his subordinates, he sustains a head injury when

1498-450: A correspondence for many years after Clemens left the river. While training, Samuel convinced his younger brother Henry to work with him, and even arranged a post of mud clerk for him on the steamboat Pennsylvania . On June 13, 1858, the steamboat's boiler exploded; Henry succumbed to his wounds eight days later. Twain claimed to have foreseen this death in a dream a month earlier, which inspired his interest in parapsychology ; Twain

1605-573: A day after the comet was at its closest to Earth. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri . He was the sixth of seven children of Jane ( née Lampton; 1803–1890), a native of Kentucky , and John Marshall Clemens (1798–1847), a native of Virginia . His parents met when his father, a lawyer called to the bar in Kentucky, tried to help Jane's father and uncle avoid bankruptcy. They were married in 1823. Twain

1712-648: A humorous travel account titled "Letter From Carson – re: Joe Goodman; party at Gov. Johnson's; music" and signed it "Mark Twain". Twain's experiences in the American West inspired Roughing It , written during 1870–71 and published in 1872. His experiences in Angels Camp (in Calaveras County, California) provided material for "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" (1865). Twain moved to San Francisco in 1864, still as

1819-467: A journalist, and met writers such as Bret Harte and Artemus Ward . He may have been romantically involved with the poet Ina Coolbrith . Twain's first success as a writer came when his humorous tall tale "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published on November 18, 1865, in the New York weekly The Saturday Press , bringing him national attention. A year later, Twain traveled to

1926-425: A lasso. When Merlin steals Hank's lasso, Sagramore returns to challenge him again. This time, Hank kills him with a revolver. He proceeds to challenge the knights of Britain to attack him en masse, which they do. After he kills nine more knights with his revolvers, the rest break and flee. The next day, Hank reveals his 19th-century infrastructure to the country. Three years later, Hank has married Sandy, and they have

2033-638: A lead by Poultney Bigelow , who had a good experience being treated by Dr. Jonas Henrik Kellgren, a Swedish osteopathic practitioner in Belgravia . They were persuaded to spend the summer at Kellgren's sanatorium by the lake in the Swedish village of Sanna. Coming back in fall, they continued the treatment in London, until Twain was convinced by lengthy inquiries in America that similar osteopathic expertise

2140-419: A man named "Hercules" hits him with a crowbar. Hank wakes up underneath an oak tree, having no idea how he got there. Hank soon encounters the knight Sir Kay . Kay challenges him to a joust , which is quickly lost by the unweaponed, unarmored Hank as he scuttles up a tree. Kay captures Hank and leads him towards Camelot Castle. Upon recognizing that he has traveled back to the 6th century, Hank realizes that he

2247-620: A much sought-after speaker. His wit and satire, both in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and Twain was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Although Twain initially spoke out in favor of American interests in the Hawaiian Islands , he later reversed his position, going on to become vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League from 1901 until his death in 1910, coming out strongly against

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2354-437: A percentage of any increase in the kingdom's gross national product , from his efforts as Arthur's chief minister. Hank learns about medieval practices and superstitions. With his superior knowledge, he is able to outdo alleged sorcerers and miracle-working church officials. At one point, soon after the eclipse, people begin gathering, hoping to see Hank perform another miracle. Merlin, jealous of Hank having replaced him as both

2461-506: A piece of metal in London and uses it to create a makeshift lockpick . However, before he can free the king, a man enters their quarters in the dark. Mistaking him for the slave driver, Hank starts a fight with him. They are both arrested. Hank lies his way out, but in his absence, the real slave driver has discovered Hank's escape. Since Hank was the most valuable slave, he was due to be sold the next day. The man becomes enraged and begins beating his other slaves, who fight back and kill him. All

2568-608: A port town on the Mississippi River that inspired the fictional town of St. Petersburg in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Slavery was legal in Missouri at the time, and it became a theme in these writings. His father was an attorney and judge who died of pneumonia in 1847, when Twain was only 11. The following year, Twain left school after the fifth grade to become

2675-567: A printer's apprentice. In 1851, he began working as a typesetter , contributing articles and humorous sketches to the Hannibal Journal , a newspaper that Orion owned. When Twain was 18, he left Hannibal and worked as a printer in New York City , Philadelphia , St. Louis , and Cincinnati , joining the newly formed International Typographical Union , the printers' trade union . Twain educated himself in public libraries in

2782-743: A progressive businessman and socialite related to the Vanderbilt family, opened the lecture and introduced Joseph Hodges Choate , who was a well known lawyer and diplomat. Choate was associated with many of the most famous litigations in American legal history, including the Kansas prohibition cases, the Chinese exclusion cases, the Maynard election returns case, the Income Tax Suit , and

2889-655: A quiet place in which to write and enjoy his cigars. Twain wrote many of his classic novels during his 17 years in Hartford (1874–1891) and over 20 summers at Quarry Farm. They include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Life on the Mississippi (1883), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889). The couple's marriage lasted 34 years until Olivia's death in 1904. All of

2996-409: A severe blow to the head and is somehow transported in time and space to England during the reign of King Arthur . After some initial confusion and his capture by one of Arthur's knights, Hank realizes that he is actually in the past, and he uses his knowledge to make people believe that he is a powerful magician . He becomes a rival of Merlin , who appears to be little more than a fraud , and gains

3103-539: A train ride to their next lecture date. After his own book's great success, Twain credited Cable for his inspiration, referring to him as "the Godfather of my book". Soon thereafter, in December 1884, Twain conceived of the idea behind A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and worked on its realization between 1885 and 1889. The bulk of its composition was done at Twain's summer home at Elmira, New York , and

3210-571: A two-reel short film. It is the only known existing film footage of Twain. Twain made a substantial amount of money through his writing, but he lost a great deal through investments. Twain invested mostly in new inventions and technology, particularly the Paige typesetting machine . It was considered a mechanical marvel that amazed viewers when it worked, but it was prone to breakdowns. Twain spent $ 300,000 (equivalent to $ 9,471,724 in 2023) on it between 1880 and 1894, but before it could be perfected it

3317-480: A year-long around-the-world lecture tour in July 1895 to pay off his creditors in full, although Twain was no longer under any legal obligation to do so. It was a long, arduous journey, and he was sick much of the time, mostly from a cold and a carbuncle . The first part of the itinerary took Twain across northern America to British Columbia , Canada, until the second half of August. For the second part, he sailed across

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3424-532: Is a deliberate flattery of all that is worst and most vulgar in American Life" (e.g., the various American inventions and institutions Hank Morgan introduces into sixth-century Britain and whose excellence and superiority are taken for granted). It is possible to see the book as an important transitional work for Twain in that earlier, sunnier passages recall the frontier humor of his tall tales such as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County , while

3531-481: Is clearly distinct from that following the basic pattern of Wells's works, where the protagonist is in possession of a time machine and is able to travel at will back and forth in time. The literary device continues to see use throughout modern science fiction, from popular American time travel stories such as Michael Crichton 's Timeline to Japanese Isekai like Handyman Saitō in Another World . Since

3638-647: Is not known. However, he certainly read the unexpurgated work after his close friend George Washington Cable recommended it to him in November 1884. The pair were traveling on the lecture circuit as the "Twins of Genius" during the winter of 1884-1885 when Cable spotted the Morte on the front table of a Rochester , New York , bookstore that both were perusing. Cable pointed to the volume and said, "You will never lay it down until you have read it cover to cover." Twain bought this copy and read it in nearly one sitting during

3745-468: Is particularly evident in the interpretative illustrations by Georgist activist Daniel Carter Beard . Twain approved each illustration, and the editors of The Mark Twain Encyclopedia considered the illustrations an essential part of the work. George Orwell strongly disapproved of the book: "[Twain] squandered his time on boffooneries [such as] A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , which

3852-510: Is reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , specifically the scene where Hank first approaches Camelot, when she finds out about her father's death. The quotation " 'Bridgeport?' Said I. 'Camelot,' Said he" is also used later in the book, and the story is used as a metaphor for contact between civilizations at very different levels of technological and ethical advancement. Yankee also greatly influenced Soviet sci-fi writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and their two seminal books. In

3959-411: Is sometimes credited as the foundational work in the time travel subgenre of science fiction , Twain's novel had several important immediate predecessors. Among them are H. G. Wells 's story " The Chronic Argonauts " (1888), which was a precursor to The Time Machine (1895). Also published the year before Connecticut Yankee was Edward Bellamy 's wildly popular Looking Backward (1888), in which

4066-427: Is the de facto smartest person on Earth and that with his knowledge, he should soon be running things. Hank is ridiculed at King Arthur's court for his strange appearance and dress and is sentenced by them, particularly the magician Merlin , to burn at the stake on June 21. By a stroke of luck, the date coincides with a historical solar eclipse in 528, of which Hank had learned in his earlier life. In prison, he sends

4173-622: The North American Review . The same year, Charlotte Teller , a writer living with her grandmother at 3 Fifth Avenue, began an acquaintanceship with him which "lasted several years and may have included romantic intentions" on his part. In 1906, Twain formed the Angel Fish and Aquarium Club, for girls whom he viewed as surrogate granddaughters. Its dozen or so members ranged in age from 10 to 16. Twain exchanged letters with his "Angel Fish" girls and invited them to concerts and

4280-447: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake , and he volunteered a few autographed portrait photographs to be sold for her benefit. To further aid Coolbrith, George Wharton James visited Twain in New York and arranged for a new portrait session. Twain was resistant initially, but he eventually admitted that four of the resulting images were the finest ones ever taken of him. In September, Twain started publishing chapters from his autobiography in

4387-686: The Catholic Church of the medieval period; the Church is seen by the Yankee as an oppressive institution that stifles science and teaches peasants meekness only as a means of preventing the overthrow of Church rule and taxation. The book also contains many depictions and condemnations of the dangers of superstition and the horrors of slavery . The book provides evidence of Twain's growing interest in Georgist economics and social theory. This

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4494-659: The French Revolution , defending the Reign of Terror as a minor problem compared to the monarchy. It is among several works by Twain and his contemporaries that mark the transition from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era of socioeconomic discourse. It is often cited as a formative example of the fledgling time travel genre . Hank Morgan, a 19th-century resident of East Hartford , Connecticut , after

4601-645: The Holy Grail . Hank accepts and spends the next few years building up 19th-century infrastructure behind the nobility's back. He then undertakes an adventure with a wandering girl named the Demoiselle Alisande a la Carteloise, nicknamed "Sandy" by Hank, to save her royal "mistresses" held captive by ogres. On the way, Hank encounters Morgan le Fay . The "princesses", "ogres", and "castles" are all revealed to actually be pigs owned by peasant swineherds, but to Sandy, they still appear as royalty. Hank buys

4708-641: The Philippine–American War and American colonialism . Twain published a satirical pamphlet, " King Leopold's Soliloquy ", in 1905 about Belgian atrocities in the Congo Free State . Twain earned a great deal of money from his writing and lectures, but invested in ventures that lost most of it, such as the Paige Compositor , a mechanical typesetter that failed because of its complexity and imprecision. He filed for bankruptcy in

4815-835: The Sandwich Islands (present-day Hawaii) as a reporter for the Sacramento Union . His letters to the Union were popular and became the basis for his first lectures. In 1867, local newspapers The Alta California and New-York Tribune funded Twain's trip to the Mediterranean aboard the Quaker City , including a tour of Europe and the Middle East. He wrote a collection of travel letters which were later compiled as The Innocents Abroad (1869). It

4922-634: The Tilden , Stanford, and AT Stewart will cases. He was influential in the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Mark Twain's speech was punctuated by laughter and applause, especially when he referred to wealthy men who swear off tax assessments. Booker T. Washington was introduced by Robert Curtis Ogden , a progressive businessman and financial supporter of the Tuskegee Institute. He had excerpts of his speech published by

5029-627: The Virginia City Territorial Enterprise . Twain first achieved success as a writer with the humorous story " The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County ," which was published in 1865; it was based on a story that he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California , where Twain had spent some time while he was working as a miner . The short story brought Twain international attention. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction. As his fame grew, Twain became

5136-651: The "real" world. When most of Arthur's court returns to Camelot, Violet informs Henry that she and her father will stay in Storybrooke since her father is originally from Connecticut in the same world. A tie-in novel, Henry and Violet , confirms other details consistent with Twain's novel, such as Hank leaving Connecticut in the year 1889. In the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series by James A. Owen , Hank appears in several books as

5243-662: The Clemens family are buried in Elmira's Woodlawn Cemetery . Twain was fascinated with science and scientific inquiry. He developed a close and lasting friendship with Nikola Tesla , and the two spent much time together in Tesla's laboratory. Twain patented three inventions, including an "Improvement in Adjustable and Detachable Straps for Garments" (to replace suspenders ) and a history trivia game. Most commercially successful

5350-579: The New York Times. "The negro in many ways has proved his worth and loyalty to this country. What he now asks is that through such institutions as Hampton, Fisk, and Tuskegee he shall be given the chance to render high and intelligent service to our country in the future. I have faith that such an opportunity will be given him." Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by

5457-639: The Ottawa visit had been to secure Canadian and British copyrights for Life on the Mississippi . Publishers in Toronto had printed unauthorized editions of Twain's books at the time, before an international copyright agreement was established in 1891. These were sold in the United States as well as in Canada, depriving him of royalties. Twain estimated that Belford Brothers' edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer alone had cost him $ 10,000 (equivalent to $ 340,000 in 2023). He had unsuccessfully attempted to secure

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5564-636: The Pacific Ocean. Twain's scheduled lecture in Honolulu , Hawaii, had to be canceled due to a cholera epidemic. Twain went on to Fiji , Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka , India, Mauritius , and South Africa. His three months in India became the centerpiece of his 712-page book Following the Equator . In the second half of July 1896, Twain sailed back to England, completing his circumnavigation of

5671-468: The South a Major or a Colonel, or a General or a Judge, before the war; and it was he, also, that made these gentlemen value these bogus decorations. For it was he that created rank and caste down there, and also reverence for rank and caste, and pride and pleasure in them. [...] Sir Walter had so large a hand in making Southern character, as it existed before the war, that he is in great measure responsible for

5778-474: The age of 19 months, which was likely reflected in Hello-Central's membranous croup. Twain also outlived two of his three daughters, but they both died after the completion of the book. The last chapters of the book are full of Hank's pronouncements of love, culminating in his final delirium, where "an abyss of thirteen centuries yawning between me and you!" is worse than death. While Connecticut Yankee

5885-484: The age of 19 months. They had three daughters: Susy (1872–1896), Clara (1874–1962), and Jean (1880–1909). The Clemenses formed a friendship with David Gray, who worked as an editor of the rival Buffalo Courier , and his wife Martha. Twain later wrote that the Grays were " 'all the solace' he and Livy had during their 'sorrowful and pathetic brief sojourn in Buffalo ' ", and that Gray's "delicate gift for poetry"

5992-427: The assailants being Medieval knights, and you get a chillingly accurate prediction of a typical First World War battle.... The modern soldiers of 1914 with their bayonets had no more chance to win such a fight than Twain's knights." One frequently overlooked aspect of the book is the emotional intensity felt by Hank toward his family: wife Sandy and baby Hello-Central. Twain's own son, Langdon, died of diphtheria at

6099-529: The beginning of the 20th century, this famous story has been adapted many times for the stage, feature-length motion pictures , and animated cartoons . Several independent films produced during the 1990s drew inspiration from the novel, such as Army of Darkness (1992) and the fourth and fifth entries in the Trancers series . In the Carl Sagan novel Contact , the protagonist, Eleanor Arroway,

6206-436: The book as a burlesque of Romantic notions of chivalry after being inspired by a dream in which he was a knight himself, severely inconvenienced by the weight and cumbersome nature of his armor . It is a satire of feudalism and monarchy that also celebrates homespun ingenuity and democratic values while questioning the for-profit ideals of capitalism and outcomes of the Industrial Revolution . Twain strongly praises

6313-426: The boy whom he christens Clarence (whose real name is Amyas le Poulet ) to inform the king that he will blot out the sun if he is executed. Hank believes it is June 20; however, it is actually the 21st when he makes his threat, the day that the eclipse will occur at 12:03 p.m. When the king decides to burn him, the eclipse catches Hank by surprise. However, he quickly convinces the people that he caused it. He makes

6420-524: The cadets. However, Hank's men are now trapped in the cave by a wall of dead bodies and sickened by the miasma bred by thousands of corpses. Hank attempts to offer aid to any wounded but is stabbed by the first wounded man he tries to help, Sir Meliagraunce . He is not seriously injured but is bedridden. Disease begins to set in. One night, Clarence finds Merlin weaving a spell over Hank, proclaiming that he will sleep for 1,300 years. Merlin begins laughing deliriously but ends up electrocuting himself on one of

6527-420: The corrosive view of human behavior in the apocalyptic latter chapters is more akin to darker, later Twain works such as The Mysterious Stranger and Letters from the Earth . George Hardy notes, "The final scenes of 'Connecticut Yankee' depict massed cavalry attempting to storm a position defended by wire and machine guns—and getting massacred, none reaching their objective. Deduct the fantasy anachronism of

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6634-715: The crowd to ones seen at Carnegie Hall a few months earlier, when New York District Attorney William Travers Jerome had used the venue to orchestrate his reelection campaign. Many New York luminaries attended: John D. Rockefeller , Henry H. Rogers , Clarence H. Mackay , Morris K. Jesup , J. G. Phelps Stokes , Isaac Newton Seligman , George Foster Peabody , John Crosby Brown , Carl Schurz , W. H. Schieffelin, William Jay Schieffelin , Joseph Hodges Choate , Henry Villard , Nicholas Murray Butler , Cleveland H. Dodge , Alfred Shaw, Felix M. Warburg , R. Fulton Cutting , Collis P. Huntington , Robert Bowne Minturn, Jr. , Jacob H. Schiff , Paul M. Warburg . William Jay Schieffelin ,

6741-428: The diplomat Charlemagne Tower, Jr. He delivered the speech " Die Schrecken der Deutschen Sprache " ("The Horrors of the German Language")—in German—to the great amusement of the audience. In 1901, Twain was invited to speak at Princeton University 's Cliosophic Literary Society , where he was made an honorary member. In 1881, Twain was honored at a banquet in Montreal , Canada where he made reference to securing

6848-867: The dwindling income and moved to Europe in June 1891. William M. Laffan of The New York Sun and the McClure Newspaper Syndicate offered him the publication of a series of six European letters. Twain, Olivia, and their daughter Susy were all faced with health problems, and they believed that it would be of benefit to visit European baths. The family stayed mainly in France, Germany, and Italy until May 1895, with longer spells at Berlin (winter 1891–92), Florence (fall and winter 1892–93), and Paris (winters and springs 1893–94 and 1894–95). During that period, Twain returned to New York four times due to his enduring business troubles. Twain rented "a cheap room" in September 1893 at $ 1.50 per day (equivalent to $ 51 in 2023) at The Players Club , which he had to keep until March 1894; meanwhile, Twain became "the Belle of New York," in

6955-509: The electric wires. Clarence and the others all apparently die from disease in the cave. More than a millennium later, the narrator finishes the manuscript and finds Hank on his deathbed and dreaming about Sandy. He attempts to make one last "effect" but dies before he can finish it. Twain's first encounter with the Morte d'Arthur occurred in 1880, when someone in his household bought Sidney Lanier 's bowdlerized edition, The Boy's King Arthur . Whether he read this children's version or not

7062-452: The evenings, finding wider information than at a conventional school. Twain describes his boyhood in Life on the Mississippi , stating that "there was but one permanent ambition" among his comrades: to be a steamboatman. "Pilot was the grandest position of all. The pilot, even in those days of trivial wages, had a princely salary – from a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars a month, and no board to pay." As Twain described it,

7169-409: The fountain and Hank "banishes" the demon. The fountain restored, Hank goes on to debunk another magician who claims to be able to tell what any person in the world is doing, including King Arthur. However, Hank knows via telephone that the king is riding out to see the restored fountain and not "resting from the chase" as the "false prophet" had claimed. Hank correctly states that the king will arrive in

7276-462: The humorous Monday Begins on Saturday , Merlin's character is taken entirely from Mark Twain's book, and he often references it. Hard to Be a God is essentially a remake of Yankee , concentrating on the moral and ethical questions of "civilizing the uncivilized". Its ending is almost identical to Yankee : Both main protagonists crumble under the weight of the dead bodies of those they tried to civilize. The fifth season of TV series Once Upon

7383-434: The issue in his speeches, interviews, and writings. In January 1901, Twain began serving as vice-president of the Anti-Imperialist League of New York. Twain was in great demand as a featured speaker, performing solo humorous talks similar to modern stand-up comedy. He gave paid talks to many men's clubs, including the Authors' Club , Beefsteak Club , Vagabonds, White Friars , and Monday Evening Club of Hartford. In

7490-488: The king's principal adviser and the most powerful sorcerer of the realm, begins spreading rumors that Hank is a fake. Hank secretly manufactures gunpowder and a lightning rod, plants explosive charges in Merlin's tower, places the lightning rod at the top, and runs a wire to the explosive charges. He then announces (when storms are frequent) that he will soon call down fire from heaven and destroy Merlin's tower, challenging Merlin to use his sorcery to prevent it. Lightning strikes

7597-443: The land under interdict , causing the people to revolt against Hank. Hank sees that something is wrong and returns to Britain. Clarence informs him of the war. As time goes on, Clarence gathers 52 teenage cadets, who are to fight against all of Britain. Hank's band fortifies itself in Merlin's Cave with a minefield, electric wire , and Gatling guns . The Church sends an army of 30,000 knights to attack them, but they are slaughtered by

7704-535: The last word. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur%27s Court A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain . The book was originally titled A Yankee in King Arthur's Court . Some early editions are titled A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur . In the book, a Yankee engineer from Connecticut named Hank Morgan receives

7811-706: The late 1890s, Twain spoke to the Savage Club in London and was elected an honorary member. He was told that only three men had been so honored, including the Prince of Wales , and Twain replied: "Well, it must make the Prince feel mighty fine." He visited Melbourne and Sydney in 1895 as part of a world lecture tour. In 1897, Twain spoke to the Concordia Press Club in Vienna as a special guest, following

7918-549: The main literary devices used in time travel literature—a modern person is suddenly hurled into the past by some force completely beyond the traveler's control, is stuck there irrevocably, and must make the best of it—typically by trying to introduce modern inventions and institutions into the past society. Several works considered classics of science fiction clearly follow on this pattern set by Twain, such as L. Sprague de Camp 's Lest Darkness Fall and Poul Anderson 's " The Man Who Came Early ". This strand of time travel literature

8025-664: The main thrust is a satire of romanticized ideas of chivalry and the idealization of the Middle Ages common in the novels of Sir Walter Scott and other 19th-century literature. Twain had a particular dislike for Scott, blaming his kind of romanticizing of battle for the Southern states ' deciding to fight the American Civil War . He writes in Life on the Mississippi : It was Sir Walter that made every gentleman in

8132-583: The museum in which they both meet. Later, characters in the story retell parts of it in Malory's original language. A chapter on medieval hermits also draws from the work of William Edward Hartpole Lecky . The story begins as a first-person narrative in Warwick Castle , where a man details his recollection of a tale told to him by an "interested stranger" who is personified as a knight through his simple language and familiarity with ancient armor. After

8239-451: The new generation from medieval concepts, and secretly constructs hidden factories, which produce modern tools and weapons. He carefully selects the individuals he allows to enter his factories and schools. As Hank gradually adjusts to his new situation, he begins to attend medieval tournaments. A misunderstanding causes Sir Sagramore to challenge him to a duel to the death. The combat will take place when Sagramore returns from his quest for

8346-438: The next day as the lead story on the front page of The New York Times. The speakers included Washington himself, along with great orators of the day including Mark Twain , Joseph Hodges Choate , and Robert Curtis Ogden . Eight African American singers entertained between the speeches with revival songs. Carnegie Hall was filled to capacity the night of the lecture, with a large group gathering outside. The New York Times likened

8453-604: The pen name Mark Twain , was an American writer, humorist , and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature ." Twain's novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the " Great American Novel ." He also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894) and cowrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner . Twain

8560-467: The pigs from the peasants, and the two leave. On the way back to Camelot, they find a traveling group of pilgrims headed for the Valley of Holiness. Another group of pilgrims, however, comes from that direction and bears the news that the valley's famous fountain has run dry. According to legend, long ago, the fountain had gone dry as soon as the monks of the valley's monastery built a bath with it. The bath

8667-404: The pilot's prestige exceeded that of the captain. The pilot had to "get up a warm personal acquaintanceship with every old snag and one-limbed cottonwood and every obscure wood pile that ornaments the banks of this river for twelve hundred miles; and more than that, must... actually know where these things are in the dark". Steamboat pilot Horace E. Bixby took Twain on as a cub pilot to teach him

8774-441: The protagonist is put into a hypnosis-induced sleep and wakes up in the year 2000. Yet another American novel that could have served as a more direct inspiration to Twain was The Fortunate Island (1882) by Charles Heber Clark . In this novel, a technically proficient American is shipwrecked on an island that broke off from Britain during Arthurian times and never developed any further. Twain's book introduced what remains one of

8881-463: The rights for The Prince and the Pauper in 1881, in conjunction with his Montreal trip. Eventually, Twain received legal advice to register a copyright in Canada (for both Canada and Britain) prior to publishing in the United States, which would restrain the Canadian publishers from printing a version when the American edition was published. There was a requirement that a copyright be registered to

8988-417: The river between New Orleans and St. Louis for $ 500 (equivalent to $ 18,000 in 2023), payable out of Twain's first wages after graduating. Twain studied the Mississippi, learning its landmarks, how to navigate its currents effectively, and how to read the river and its constantly shifting channels, reefs, submerged snags, and rocks that would "tear the life out of the strongest vessel that ever floated". It

9095-482: The rod, triggering the explosive charges and leveling the tower, further diminishing Merlin's reputation. Hank Morgan uses his authority and knowledge to industrialize the country behind the backs of the rest of the ruling class. His assistant is Clarence, a young boy he meets at court, whom he educates, gradually lets in on most of his secrets, and eventually comes to rely on heavily. Hank sets up secret schools, which teach modern ideas and modern English, thereby removing

9202-425: The slaves, including the king, will be hanged as soon as Hank is found. Hank is captured, but he and Arthur are rescued by a party of knights led by Lancelot , riding bicycles. Then, the king becomes extremely bitter against slavery and vows to abolish it when they get free, much to Hank's delight. Sagramore returns from his quest and fights Hank, who defeats him and seven others, including Galahad and Lancelot, using

9309-493: The theatre and to play games. Twain wrote in 1908 that the club was his "life's chief delight". In 1907, he met Dorothy Quick (then age 11) on a transatlantic crossing, beginning "a friendship that was to last until the very day of his death". Twain was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) by Yale University in 1901 and a Doctor of Law by the University of Missouri in 1902. Oxford University awarded him

9416-472: The trust of King Arthur. Hank attempts to modernize the past in order to make people's lives better. Hank is disgusted by how the Barons treat the commoners and tries to implement democratic reforms, but in the end, he is unable to prevent the death of Arthur . Hank declares England a republic , but the Catholic Church , growing fearful of his wealth and power, issues an interdict against him. Twain wrote

9523-495: The valley. Hank has an idea to travel among the poor disguised as a peasant to find out how they truly live. King Arthur joins him but has extreme difficulty in acting like a peasant convincingly. Arthur becomes somewhat disillusioned by seeing for himself the standard of life of his subjects. The two encounter villagers in a minor fiefdom of Arthur's realm, where Arthur is taken as a madman when he makes several outlandish and erroneous comments about agriculture. Hank attempts to teach

9630-473: The villagers about a rudimentary value theory of wages that they rebuff and in his zeal to win the argument, accidentally acknowledges that a member of his audience overpaid a worker, a capital offense. The audience then forms a mob that chases Hank and Arthur down. They seem to be delivered from danger when a nobleman invites them into his entourage, but he enslaves them and sells them to another particularly ruthless enslaver, who takes them to London. Hank steals

9737-404: The wake of these financial setbacks, but in time overcame his financial troubles with the help of Standard Oil executive Henry Huttleston Rogers . Twain eventually paid all his creditors in full, even though his declaration of bankruptcy meant he was not required to do so. Twain was born shortly after an appearance of Halley's Comet , and predicted that his death would accompany it as well, dying

9844-421: The war. For example, the book portrays the medieval people as being very gullible, as when Merlin makes a "veil of invisibility" that, according to him, will make the wearer imperceptible to his enemies, though friends can still see him. The knight Sir Sagramor wears it to fight Hank, who pretends that he cannot see Sagramor for effect to the audience. Hank Morgan's opinions are also strongly denunciatory toward

9951-652: The words of biographer Albert Bigelow Paine . Twain's writings and lectures enabled him to recover financially, combined with the help of his friend Henry Huttleston Rogers . In 1893, Twain began a friendship with the financier, a principal of Standard Oil , that lasted the remainder of his life. Rogers first made Twain file for bankruptcy in April 1894, then had him transfer the copyrights on his written works to his wife to prevent creditors from gaining possession of them. Finally, Rogers took absolute charge of Twain's money until all his creditors were paid. Twain accepted an offer from Robert Sparrow Smythe and embarked on

10058-537: The world begun 14 months before. Twain and his family spent four more years in Europe, mainly in England and Austria (October 1897 to May 1899), with longer spells in London and Vienna . Clara had wished to study the piano under Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. However, Jean's health did not benefit from consulting with specialists in Vienna, the "City of Doctors". The family moved to London in spring 1899, following

10165-428: Was a self-pasting scrapbook; a dried adhesive on the pages needed only to be moistened before use. More than 25,000 were sold. Twain was an early proponent of fingerprinting as a forensic technique, featuring it in a tall tale in Life on the Mississippi (1883) and as a central plot element in the novel Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894). Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) features

10272-644: Was an early member of the Society for Psychical Research . Twain was guilt-stricken and held himself responsible for the rest of his life. Twain continued to work on the river and was a river pilot until the Civil War broke out in 1861, when traffic was curtailed along the Mississippi River. At the start of hostilities, he enlisted briefly in a local Confederate unit, the Marion Rangers as

10379-646: Was at the Brick Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue, New York. He is buried in his wife's family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York . The Langdon family plot is marked by a 12-foot monument (two fathoms, or "mark twain") placed there by Twain's surviving daughter Clara. There is also a smaller headstone. He expressed a preference for cremation (for example, in Life on the Mississippi ), but he acknowledged that his surviving family would have

10486-648: Was available there. In mid-1900, Twain was the guest of newspaper proprietor Hugh Gilzean-Reid at Dollis Hill House , located on the north side of London. Twain wrote that he had "never seen any place that was so satisfactorily situated, with its noble trees and stretch of country, and everything that went to make life delightful, and all within a biscuit's throw of the metropolis of the world." Twain then returned to America in October 1900, having earned enough to pay off his debts. In winter 1900/01, Twain became his country's most prominent opponent of imperialism , raising

10593-605: Was completed in Hartford, Connecticut . It was first published in England by Chatto & Windus under the title A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur in December 1889. Writer and critic William Dean Howells called it Twain's best work and "an object-lesson in democracy". The work was met with some indignation in Great Britain, where it was perceived as "a direct attack on [its] hereditary and aristocratic institutions". The book pokes fun at contemporary society, but

10700-403: Was destroyed and the water instantly returned, but this time, it has stopped with no clear cause. Hank is begged to restore the fountain, although Merlin is already trying to do so. When Merlin fails, he claims that the fountain has been corrupted by a demon and that it will never flow again. Hank procures assistants from Camelot, who bring along a pump and fireworks for special effects. They repair

10807-617: Was eerily accurate; he died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, in Stormfield , one month before the comet passed Earth that year. Upon hearing of Twain's death, President William Howard Taft said: Mark Twain gave pleasure – real intellectual enjoyment – to millions, and his works will continue to give such pleasure to millions yet to come … His humor was American, but he was nearly as much appreciated by Englishmen and people of other countries as by his own countrymen. He has made an enduring part of American literature . Twain's funeral

10914-521: Was more than two years before he received his pilot's license. Piloting also gave Twain his pen name from " mark twain ", the leadsman's cry for a measured river depth of two fathoms (12 feet), which was safe water for a steamboat. As a young pilot, Clemens served on the steamer A. B. Chambers with Grant Marsh , who became famous for his exploits as a steamboat captain on the Missouri River. The two liked and admired each other, and maintained

11021-416: Was of English and Scots-Irish descent. Only three of his siblings lived beyond childhood: Orion (1825–1897), Pamela (1827–1904), and Henry (1838–1858). His brother Pleasant Hannibal (1828) died at three weeks of age, his sister Margaret (1830–1839) died when Twain was three, and his brother Benjamin (1832–1842) died three years later. When he was four, Twain's family moved to Hannibal, Missouri ,

11128-703: Was on this trip that Twain met fellow passenger Charles Langdon, who showed him a picture of his sister Olivia . Twain later claimed to have fallen in love at first sight . Upon returning to the United States, Twain was offered honorary membership in Yale University 's secret society Scroll and Key in 1868. Twain and Olivia Langdon corresponded throughout 1868. She rejected his first marriage proposal, but Twain continued to court her and managed to overcome her father's initial reluctance. They were married in Elmira, New York in February 1870. She came from

11235-717: Was raised in Hannibal, Missouri , which later provided the setting for both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn . He served an apprenticeship with a printer early in his career, and then worked as a typesetter, contributing articles to his older brother Orion Clemens ' newspaper. Twain then became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River , which provided him the material for Life on the Mississippi (1883). Soon after, Twain headed west to join Orion in Nevada . He referred humorously to his lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for

11342-545: Was rendered obsolete by the Linotype . He lost the bulk of his book profits, as well as a substantial portion of his wife's inheritance. Twain also lost money through his publishing house, Charles L. Webster and Company , which enjoyed initial success selling the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant but failed soon afterward, losing money on a biography of Pope Leo XIII . Fewer than 200 copies were sold. Twain and his family closed down their expensive Hartford home in response to

11449-413: Was wasted working for a newspaper. Starting in 1873, Twain moved his family to Hartford, Connecticut , where he arranged the building of a home next door to Stowe. In the 1870s and 1880s, the family summered at Quarry Farm in Elmira, the home of Olivia's sister, Susan Crane. In 1874, Susan had a study built, an octagonal gazebo, apart from the main house as a surprise to Twain so that he would have

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