Michael Sheldon. Mark Twain: Man in White: The Grand
Adventure of His Final Years. New York: Random House, 2010.
As reviewed by Ted Odenwald
It’s not that there isn’t enough biographical material available on Mark Twain. Between his autobiography and his “official” biography, penned by Albert Bigelow Paine (but definitely orchestrated by Clemens/Twain), there is enough reading for several months. In this new biography, printed on the hundredth anniversary of Twain’s death, Michael Sheldon seeks to show that far from traveling “gentle into that good night,” the author/humorist lived his last four years driven by a quest: to be remembered and to have his literary legacy preserved.
Sheldon describes Twain’s testimony before members of Congress as he was advocating the extension of copyright ownership; according to the law, he faced the possibility in the early 1900’s of losing all rights to his early publications-and of having his heirs have no residual rights regarding those works. To amplify the impact of his eloquent argument, Twain was dressed in his white linen suit, a breach of etiquette in his day, where black or dark outfits were de rigueur. The white suit became his “uniform” for most occasions, both to draw attention and to churlishly flaunt social expectations.
There were certainly many opportunities afforded Twain to honor his literary achievements, the most significant being Oxford University’s conferring the degree of Doctor of Letters upon him. Twain had felt that his intelligence had been underrated and deserved respect from academics.” He defended his art: “With all its lightness and frivolity it has one serious purpose…and it is constant to it-the deriding of shams, the exposure of pretentious falsities, the laughing at stupid superstitions out of existence.”
In a number of events, Twain made sure that he kept a high profile. When the wife of Maryland’s governor asked the author to assist in a fund-raiser for her Presbyterian church in Annapolis, Twain was happy to help, but managed to create an air of uneasiness by insisting on smoking his signature cigars on the grounds of the Naval Academy. “With his usual genius for such things, he managed to do a good deed…while at the same time casting himself as an endearing old rake who could barely stay one step ahead of the law. And the more he played the incorrigible sinner, the more the crowd loved him. He was proud to be a walking contradiction and was only too happy to point it out.” When he learned that the Educational Alliance, a drama program for children in New York’s tenements, needed financial backing, Twain used his notoriety to seek out financial backing from the wealthy, including Andrew Carnegie. He finally convinced publisher Robert Collier to support the project. While returning to New York on his friend’s yacht, Twain allowed himself to become the subject of a hoax in which he was believed to have been lost at sea.
Sheldon spends a great deal of time examining the people who were most important to Twain in his last years. He had hired Albert Bigelow Paine to be his official biographer, an enormous task, given the author’s vast number of literary pieces and personal letters (often in the possession of other people and libraries). Twain “…wanted the world never to forget what he had done to become a writer and how he had lived as a writer. His books were not written in a vacuum. They were the products of a man with specific experiences and characteristics…” -and Twain wanted to have full control over whatever went into Paine’s final product. Henry Rogers, a Standard Oil VP and a millionaire Wall Street speculator, was Twain’s close friend. In 1894, when the author was deeply in debt primarily because of ill-advised business deals, Rogers saved Twain’s most valuable assets by negotiating with his creditors. In his last years, Twain lived comfortably because Rogers had handled his investments. Isabel Lyon served officially as the family secretary for seven years, but she basically had become the controlling woman of the household after Twain’s wife, Olivia, died; she oversaw the servants, and even was responsible for planning the building of Twain’s new home in Redding, CT. Ralph Ashton provided business and legal advice to Twain, though he worked without a salary for the author. Twain eventually came to view Ashcroft and Lyon as enemies. His last major work, though it is still unpublished, was a 400-page indictment of the two people whom he had previously viewed as “worshipped pets…deserving of the kingdom of heaven.” But Ashcroft had gotten Twain to bequeath him control of the estate that should legally have gone to Clara and Jean, Twain’s surviving daughters. And Lyon, who for years viewed Twain as “the King,” shifted her loyalty to Ashcroft. She also battled with Clara and Jean.
Twain’s relationships with his daughters were strained. Jean suffered from epilepsy, and while Twain insisted that he wanted to have her live at home, he was led to believe that because of the violent episodes that followed grand mal seizures Jean would be best cared for in a sanitarium. This argument was presented forcefully to Twain by Lyon, who also informed Jean’s doctor that the household was unable to cope with the young woman’s illness. Clara’s relationship with her father was complex; apparently jealous of his renown, and seeking to establish a vocal career of her own, she continuously knew that she was living in his shadow. She also resented the control that Lyon was exerting over Twain, feeling that the daughter should be the female-in-charge even if she didn’t live in the same house as her father. This was not a happy home; little wonder that Twain began having angina attacks.
Having lived a very colorful, productive life, Twain could have sat back comfortably in retirement. Instead, he lived actively, perhaps not as productive as his earlier years in terms of literature, but certainly involved in many activities which kept him in the public’s spotlight. He was very successful in his attempts to insure that he would be remembered as a significant figure -not just for his own era but for all periods..
Ted Odenwald and his wife, Shirley have lived in Oakland for 40 years. He taught HS English at Glen Rock High School for all of those years plus one more. Now he is enjoying time spent with his family, singing in the North Jersey Chorus and quenching his wanderlust. Ted is also the Worship Leader at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in Oakland.