The Mysterious Stranger - Softcover

Twain, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1605124907 ISBN 13: 9781605124902

Publisher: Akasha Classics, 2009

Synopsis

The Mysterious Stranger is a tale that is itself both mysterious and strange. Written by Mark Twain, better known for such humorous tales as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, the story concerns the visit of Satan to a medieval Austrian village. One of several versions which he wrote during his later life, it was only published posthumously by his biographer. It is a deeply serious book which examines the nature of morality and maintains a scathing attack on organized religion as a tool of oppression. If you are interested in seeing another side of one of America's most famous authors, The Mysterious Stranger is a fascinating read.

About this title

About the Author

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Among his writings are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885),[2] the latter often called "The Great American Novel". Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. After an apprenticeship with a printer, Twain worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to the newspaper of his older brother, Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.[3] In 1865, his humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was published, based on a story he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention, and was even translated into classic Greek.[4] His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Though Twain earned a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he invested in ventures that lost a great deal of money, notably the Paige Compositor, a mechanical typesetter, which failed because of its complexity and imprecision. In the wake of these financial setbacks, he filed for protection from his creditors via bankruptcy, and with the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain chose to pay all his pre-bankruptcy creditors in full, though he had no legal responsibility to do so. Twain was born shortly after a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it", too. He died the day after the comet returned. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age",[5] and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature"

From the Back Cover

In his last years Mark Twain had become a respected literary figure whose opinions were widely sought by the press. He had also suffered a series of painful physical, economic, and emotional losses. The Mysterious Stranger, published posthumously in 1916 and belonging to Twain's "dark" period, belies the popular image of the affable American humorist. In this antireligious tale, Twain denies the existence of a benign Providence, a soul, an afterlife, and even reality itself. As the Stranger in the story asserts, "nothing exists; all is a dream".

Edition details

• Publisher: Akasha Classics
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1605124907
• ISBN 13: 9781605124902
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 114