How to Tell a Story and Other Essays

by Mark Twain

Overview

If any writer ever knew how to tell a story, it was Mark Twain. This series of essays, which combine humor with beautiful language, is more than a great read: it gives insight into the mind of a great man. The book begins with Mark Twain's famous disclaimer "I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told, for I have been almost daily in the company of the most expert story-tellers for many years." Twain then uses the four stories to illustrate his points about story telling. For example, his premise is that a humorous story does not have a purposes, it can go on and on as long as it is funny. The Wounded Soldier story demonstrates this point. He explains how to delivery a story with pauses and noises using The Golden Arm story to illustrate. These stories are a good introduction to Twain's story telling style. The tale of The Golden Arm is a classic, and is a great tale for sleep overs and camping trips.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481246989
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	12/13/2012
Pages:	38
Sales rank:	279,559
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.08(d)

About the Author

Mark Twain (1835 -1910) was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which proved to be very popular and brought him nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling. He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. However, he lacked financial acumen. Though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers, however, he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility. Born during a visit by Halley's Comet, he died on its return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature".

Date of Birth:

November 30, 1835

Date of Death:

April 21, 1910

Place of Birth:

Florida, Missouri

Place of Death:

Redding, Connecticut