Mark Twain: His Life in Virginia City, Nevada
2nd Revised Edition
George J. Williams III
This well researched account of Clemens' twenty-one months as reporter for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, Nevada was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1985. Samuel Clemens adopted his pen name, Mark Twain, when he began working as a reporter here.
The text is based on recently discovered Twain letters, some published here for the first time, Twain's first newspaper writings and the recollections of men who worked with Twain in Nevada. While prospecting at Aurora, Clemens wrote a series of humorous letters and mailed them to the Enterprise, then a leading Western paper. Impressed, editor Joe Goodman offered twenty-six year old Clemens his first full time writing job as a reporter.
The job permanently changed Clemens' life, establishing him in his lifelong career as a serious writer and humorist. In Virginia City, Twain won notoriety as a humorist and character. Williams shows us that young Mark Twain was a fun loving troublemaker who drank too much, invented horrible murder stories and fled town after threatening a rival editor to a duel.
2009, 208 pages, 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”, 3-color cover, 60+ black & white photographs, maps, bibliography, index. Published by Trees By The River Publishing Trust.
ISBN 978-0-935174-15-1 trade paper
$11.95
Books and Maps on Related Topics:
Eastern Sierra Hot Springs by George J. Williams III
Nevada Hot Springs; The Complete Guide to Nevada’s Recreational Hot Springs by George J. Williams III
On the Road with Mark Twain in California and Nevada by George J. Williams III
Mark Twain and the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by George J. Williams III
Two Peoples, One Place by Ray Raphael & Freeman House
The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm by Mark McLaughlin
Rosa May; The Search for a Mining Camp Legend by George Williams III
Trails and Tales of Yosemite and the Central Sierra—A Guide for Hikers and History Buffs by Sharon Giacomazzi
A Fair Distance; Lois Boblett's Western Memoir, 1851-1922 by L. Darlene Spargo
California Gold; The Story of the Gold Rush by Phyllis Zauner
Dark Journey by Allan W. Eckert
The Mendocino Coast Glove Box Guide, 3rd Edition—Lodgings, Eateries, Sights, History, Activities and More by Bob Lorentzen
Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West; Cultural and Scientific Basis for their Use by Cecilia Garcia & James D. Adams, Jr.
An Everyday History of Somewhere by Ray Raphael
Shakespeare Playing Cards by Prospero Art
Under the Table Books by Todd Walton
Buddha in a Teacup: Tales of Enlightenment by Todd Walton
