Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1

Mark Twain's final and uncensored masterpiece, presented in three volumes, is a landmark publication in American literature.

Twain will begin to seem strange again, alluring and still astonishing . . . in ways that still resonate with us. — New York Times

His crystalline humour and expansive range are a continuous source of delight and awe. — Los Angeles Times Book Review

"I've struck it!" Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. "And I will give it away—to you. You will never know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to dictating your autobiography." Thus, after dozens of false starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his "Final (and Right) Plan" for telling the story of his life.

His innovative notion—to "talk only about the thing which interests you for the moment"—meant that his thoughts could range freely. The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent," and that he was therefore free to speak his "whole frank mind."

The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain's death. In celebration of this important milestone and in honour of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain's works, UC Press is proud to offer for the first time Mark Twain's uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly as he left it.

This major literary event brings to readers, admirers, and scholars the first of three volumes and presents Mark Twain's authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humour, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.

Editors: Harriet E. Smith, Benjamin Griffin, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Sharon K. Goetz, Leslie Myrick