This is the most enjoyable book on Mark Twain that I've read. It covers the last few years of his tumultuous life, which were largely sad and stressful yet full of activity. The biography reads like a novel.
It was during this late period of his life that he started wearing his now famous white suit. His signature uniform was a late creation to draw attention to himself. Twain wanted to be remembered, and this was one of his tools to fashion his imaage for posterity. It worked.
The book details his work toward revising US copyright law (which worked, extending a writers control over his work for 56 years) to preserve his royalitites for his family, the death of his close friend Henry Rogers, and the tragic death of his daughter Jean in December of 1909. He created controversies that continue to this day: firing his associates Isabel Lyon and Ralph Ashcroft, creating writings that he dared not publish in his lifetime, and dictating long autobiographical writings that will finally be published later this year in the complete autobiography of Mark Twain.
I was sad when I finished the book. I wish it had gone on for another 400 pages. This Michael Shelden, who teaches at Indiana State, is a masterful writer.
I am slowly coming to an appreciation and understanding of Mark Twain.
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