Mark Twain in Context
Literature in Context Series

Mark Twain In Context provides the fullest introduction in one volume to the multifaceted life and times of one of the most celebrated American writers. It is a collection of short, lively contributions covering a wide range of topics on Twain's life and works. Twain lived during a time of great change, upheaval, progress, and challenge. He rose from obscurity to become what some have called 'the most recognizable person on the planet'. Beyond his contributions to literature, which were hugely important and influential, he was a businessman, an inventor, an advocate for social and political change, and ultimately a cultural icon. Placing his life and work in the context of his age reveals much about both Mark Twain and America in the last half of the nineteenth century, the twentieth century, and the first decades of the twenty-first century.

Part I. Life: 1. Life Gary Scharnhorst; 2. Reading Alan Gribben; 3. Autobiography John Bird; 4. Biographies Kevin Mac Donnell; Part II. Literary Contexts: 5. Southwestern humor Henry B. Wonham; 6. Literary comedians David E. E. Sloane; 7. Local color and regionalism Joseph A. Alvarez; 8. Early periodical writing James Caron; 9. Travel writing Jeffrey Melton; 10. Short fiction Peter Messent; 11. Publishing Bruce Michelson; 12. Lectures and speeches Tracy Wuster; 13. Contemporary writers Kelly Richardson; 14. Realism and naturalism Chad Rohman; Part III. Historical and Cultural Contexts: 15. Politics James S. Leonard; 16. Business and economics Lawrence Howe; 17. Religion Harold K. Bush; 18. Science and technology Nathaniel Williams; 19. Race and ethnicity: African Americans Shelley Fisher Fishkin; 20. Race and ethnicity: native Americans Kerry Driscoll; 21. Race and ethnicity: Chinese Hsuan L. Hsu; 22. Cosmopolitanism Ann M. Ryan; 23. Gender issues: women and domesticity Laura Skandera-Trombley; 24. Gender issues: sexuality Linda A. Morris; 25. History Gregg Camfield; 26. Animals and animal rights Emily VanDette; 27. Nationalism and anti-Imperialism Susan K. Harris; 28. Philosophy James Wharton Leonard; Part IV. Reception and Criticism: 29. Contemporary and early reception and criticism (to 1960) Joe B. Fulton; 30. Reception and criticism (1960-present) Joseph Csicsila; 31. Translation and international reception Selina Lai-Henderson; Part V. Historical, Creative, and Cultural Legacies: 32. Film, television, and theater adaptations R. Kent Rasmussen; 33. Copyright, trademark, and brand Judith Yaross Lee; 34. Mark Twain sites Hillary Iris Lowe.

John Bird is Professor of English at Winthrop University. He is the author of Mark Twain and Metaphor (2007). He is a former president of the Mark Twain Circle of America and the founding editor of The Mark Twain Annual. Since 2011, he has written the Mark Twain chapter in American Literary Scholarship.