Mark Twain's third book was published in 1871 -- a small volume containing only these two stories. The "Awful, Terrible Medieval Romance" had been previously published in the Express (1870), while the "Burlesque Autobiography" appeared for the first time. Running throughout the book also was a series of cartoons, "The House That Jack Built," which lambasted the Erie Railroad Ring (the house) and its participants, Jay Gould, John T. Hoffman, and Jim Fisk.
Even among Twain collectors, these writings are almost unknown. As his fame grew and his writing style matured, Twain was embarrassed by these early works. Two years after publication, he bought all of the printing plates of the book and destroyed them. We were fortunate that one of our WebTV users found an original copy among some family heirlooms, and we are thus able to bring you this rare glimpse of the formative years of one of America's greatest writers.
How do you think Twain would feel about our publishing writings that he himself had destroyed? We think he'd chuckle. Stuffy and puffed up he was not -- we suspect that, looking back on his illustrious career, he would be amused to be reminded that even he was a beginner once.
Mark Twain was a writer of singular style, and often does not conform to 'traditional' forms of chapter organization. Awful, Terrible Medieval Romance was written with chapters, while A Burlesque Autobiography was not. For the sake of WebTV formatting, this latter story has been split into 6 pages. Thanks for visiting, and enjoy!
Regards,
Team Iacta
|
