How to Tell a Story and Other Essays
Product Description
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. Twain is most noted for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). He is also known for his quotations. His first important work, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, was published in 1865. His next publication was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which drew on his youth in Hannibal. The character of Tom Sawyer was modeled on twain as a child, with traces of two schoolmates, John Briggs and Will Bowen. His next major published work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, solidified him as a noteworthy American writer. Some have called it the first Great American Novel. Finn was an offshoot from Tom Sawyer and proved to have a more serious tone than its predecessor. The main premise behind Huckleberry Finn is the young boy’s belief in the right thing to do even though the majority of society believes that it was wrong.Amazon.com Review
This book is worthy of being called a classic not only for the wonderful writing, but for the presentation: How to Tell a Story and Other Essays is a facsimile edition of the original first edition published in 1897 under the direction of Mark Twain himself. It is but one volume in the wondrous 29-volume Oxford Mark Twain. The essays, which, besides the title essay, include the devilishly brilliant “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences,” “Traveling With a Reformer,” and others, were written a century ago, but they bristle with energy and wit. At times we take the great Twain for granted, but this volume of essays serves as a wonderful reminder of what a fine and funny writer he was.
For more information: How to Tell a Story and Other Essays
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The actual contents of the free and the one dollar Kindle editions include:
How to Tell a Story
The Wounded Soldier
The Golden Arm
Mental Telegraphy Again
The Invalids Story
“Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences” and “Traveling With a Reformer” do not appear in this edition, in either the free or the $1.00 edition, despite the editorial comment to the contrary. The wonderful Fenimore Cooper essay is available online several places for free; see the second Comment for a link to UVA’s collection. There are at least two Kindle versions for a buck or so:
The Literary Offenses of Fenimore Cooper $1.00.
Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences $.99
Nonetheless, this is still a very interesting collection, especially if you read aloud to children or adults. Twain has a great gift for explaining how to tell even a poor story.
Despite his disclaimer: “I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told, for I have been almost daily in the company of the most expert story-tellers for many years.”
A joy to read, silently or aloud, and the price is right.
Robert C. Ross 2009
Rating: 5 / 5
How to Tell a Story and Other Essays