That Samuel Clemens (1835–1910) became an emblematic American literary icon is not without irony. He despised the formal schooling of his boyhood, and soon after the death of his father in 1847, he happily left the classroom. For the next 20 years traveled and worked a smorgasbord of jobs, among them typesetter, river boat pilot—from which he derived his pseudonym Mark Twain—and newspaper reporter. Having won some fame for his stories and lectures, he finally followed what he later described as his “call” to literature.
Though he lacked formal education, Twain had a stock of other valuable goods he could deliver to pen and paper. Through his rough and tumble wanderings he maintained a keen eye for detail, building up a supply of stories and anecdotes that would launch him into the literary life. His sense of the absurd and gift for humor that appeared in so much of his work won him an enormous audience both in America and abroad, as did his talent on the lecture circuit.
