Twain’s End – a Review

Reading was a huge part of schooling my children, and we read many books by Mark Twain: Puddn’head Wilson, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Life on the Mississippi. His life was something we didn’t study though. I knew that he didn’t like people much, but never did I imagine that the man who wrote all of these wonderful books was such a complex, moody individual.

Samuel Clemens was not happy, but he would not allow himself to do the things that would make him happy. He became a slave to the character of Mark Twain that he created. Money fell at Twain’s feet, and Clemens was held captive by that and by what others thought of him.

Twain’s relationship with his daughters was rather rocky. His marital relationship with his invalid wife was pretty much nonexistent. And Twain really liked women. He longed to be loved for who he was, but he was not always a likeable individual.

Twain’s End opens with Isabel’s mother asking her how she will serve tea to blind and deaf Helen Keller, one of the many famous people that visit Mark Twain’s house. As far as the world is supposed to know, Isabel Lyon is Twain’s private secretary. Her relationship with Twain is much more than that though, and the world does suspect.

Blind and deaf Helen Keller and her teacher throw some more drama into the already tense Twain household. There is a love triangle going on between Helen Keller, her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, and John Macy, Anne’s husband. Tension runs high when this trio visits Twain’s home.

Helen Keller and her teacher aren’t the only ones whom Twain entertained at his home. He entertained businessmen such as Andrew Carnegie, writers such as Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and various musicians and professors. And, oh, the things that were talked about during tea when such “important” people were present. Did Shakespeare really write all of those plays? Or was the Bard of Avon really Frances Bacon?

At this time, corsets were in fashion for women. They would do most anything to attain the tiny waist they believe made them more attractive. Isabel complained about the painfulness of the steel-ribbed busks of the corset she word, about the steel stays driving into her flesh when she cinched her belt. Why did she put herself through this? She did it in hopes that Mr. Clemens would notice her small waistline.

Isabel did become everything to Clemens, but I do not believe it was because of her tiny waist. He called her “Lioness”, and she called him “King.” He came to depend on her. They took vacations together, and they shared most everything with each other. Roger Ashcroft, Twain’s business manager, was also trying to win Isabel’s affections though.

Isabel’s relationship with Clemens was great until a reporter asked her about it. Instead of owning up to their true relationship, Isabel lied and said she would never marry him, even though just the thought of marrying him made her deliriously happy and took up most of her thoughts. From that point on, things were never the same between them. It didn’t matter that the reason she said it was to protect his reputation.

Twain pushed Isabel away after this. Ashcroft took advantage of the situation. He stepped in and proposed marriage to her, and she accepted. Twain did give them his blessing, but once they were married, he fired the both of them. And then things got nasty. The woman Twain loved and spoke so highly of while she worked for him became the object of his wrath.

This is much more than a book of love triangles though. It is a glimpse into the life of Samuel Clemens and the type of man he was. Sometimes, I really liked Twain, but other times, I hated him for the things he did. He really did not deal with anger well at all. The happy life he could have had with Isabel, he rejected. Was it because of his pride? Was it because of the influence of his daughters, especially Clara?

Clara inherited his anger and tendency to throw tantrums. Clara would reach out in friendship to Isabel only to reject her friendship later on. This she did many times. Deep down, I believe Clara was jealous of the attention her father showed Isabel.

This is a work of fiction, but it is obvious that the author did a lot of research for this book. Reading it has given me insight into the reason Twain wrote as voraciously as he did. It also gave the reasons behind many of the books that he wrote. The next time I read his books, I will appreciate them even more.

I was sent a copy of this book free of  charge by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If you would like your own copy to read, I have provided an Amazon link below.

Amazon Link: Twain’s End

Recommended Articles:
The Creation of Eve – a Review
Reign of Madness – a Review
Lynn Cullen Interview – Sofonisba Anguissola, Juana the Mad, and Historical Fiction
I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter – a Review
Mrs. Poe – a Review

Favorite Sentences:
Where Fifth Avenue and Broadway crossed at Twenty-Third Street, the just-completed Fuller Building, the tallest and strangest of the new “skyscrapers,” loomed on its triangular lot like a twenty-some story slice of wedding cake.

The humorist who was loved around the world, Isabel was finding, did not generally like people.

How blind we are to things we cannot imagine.

She was questioning how that could possibly be as she gazed dumbfounded at the tiled walls decorated with plaques of beavers—beavers, of all things, so crude to someone accustomed to the classical nude statues of Florence—when a train rumbled up, shrieking like Grendel being hewn by Beowulf.

Such deceptive trees—the feathery leaves hid hairy barbs that were as sharp as needles.

New Words Learned:
andantino – pertaining to music that is more lighthearted than andante, and in most cases quicker

anodyne – not likely to provoke dissent or offense; uncontentious or inoffensive, often deliberately so

Baedeker– German publisher of travel guidebooks. He is remember chiefly for the series of guidebooks to which he gave his name and which are still published.

Bokhara – a Turkoman rug in small and large sizes coming from the region of Bukhara, distinguished generally by very fine knotting, geometric allover designs (such as octagons, diamonds, angular shrubs, and flowers), and by its prevailing colors of mulberry red with touches of dark blue, vermilion, and ivory white

brougham – a horse-drawn carriage with a roof, four wheels, and an open driver’s seat in front

chiffonier – a tall chest of drawers, often with a mirror on top

comport – conduct oneself; behave

crenellations – the battlements of a castle or other building

crostino – one canapé made of a thin piece of toast

décolleté – a low neckline on a woman’s dress or top

halcyon – denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy

ingénue – an innocent or unsophisticated young woman

meerschaum – a tobacco pipe with a bowl made of meerschaum, a soft white claylike material consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate, found chiefly in Turkey

mercurial – (of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind. I think this adjective perfectly describes Mark Twain.

Orchestrelle –  a reed organ of the late 19th and early 20th centuries constructed on the principle of the mechanical player piano and designed to imitate the effect of an orchestra

potentate – a monarch or ruler, esp. an autocratic one

rapprochement – an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations

Schottische – a slow polka

shirtwaist– a woman’s blouse that resembles a shirt

shishing – making a prolonged sibilant sound resembling the speech sound \sh\

stereoscope – a device by which two photographs of the same object taken at slightly different angles are viewed together, creating an impression of depth and solidity

strident – loud and harsh; grating

toque – a woman’s small hat, typically having a narrow, closely turned-up brim

tumescent – swollen or becoming swollen, esp. as a response to sexual arousal

About the Author:
Lynn Cullen is the author of The Creation of Eve, named among the best fiction books of 2010 by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and as an April 2010 Indie Next selection.

She is also the author of numerous award-winning books for children, including the young adult novel I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter, which was a 2007 Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection, and an ALA Best Book of 2008.

Her novel, Reign of Madness, is about Juana the Mad, daughter of the Spanish Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand.

In the thrilling Mrs. Poe, learn about the writer of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, his wife, and his mistress.