Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a famous and popular American humorist, novelist, writer and lecturer.

First book

But it was another trip that established his fame as an author. Twain convinced Col. McComb of the Alta California to pay for Twain's passage aboard the steam packet Quaker City on an American excursion to Europe and the Middle East. The resulting letters Twain produced for the newspaper reporting on the trip formed the basis of his first book, The Innocents Abroad, a large and humorous travelogue that pointedly failed to worship Old World arts and conventions. Sold by subscription, the book became hugely popular and put its author in a spotlight he never willingly relinquished for the rest of his life.

Related Topics:
Europe - Middle East - The Innocents Abroad - Old World

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After the success of Innocents he married Olivia Langdon in 1870 and moved to Buffalo, New York, then to Hartford, Connecticut. During this period, he lectured often in the United States and England.

Related Topics:
Buffalo, New York - Hartford, Connecticut

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Later he wrote as an avid critic of American society. He wrote about politics with his Life on the Mississippi.

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