Poster and art for Mark Twain's Joan of Arc

Mark Twain’s Obsession with Joan of Arc

Despite being famous for his witty analyses of the American South, Twain was proudest of the historical fiction he wrote about France’s legendary martyr.
Mark Twain and James Fenimore Cooper

Mark Twain v. James Fenimore Cooper

A trial in the court of public opinion.
Mark Twain

Was Mark Twain a Con Man?

A man named Samuel Clemens received funds from the radical abolitionist Boston Vigilance Committee in 1854. It may have been Mark Twain, pulling a prank.
William Shakespeare

Shakespeare: Dead or Alive?

Shakespeare's authorship has been questioned by many, including Mark Twain.
Cover of North American Review

The North American Review Turns 200

Happy birthday to the North American Review!
Lorne Malvo

From Twain to Fargo: the Outsider in American Storytelling

The Lorne Malvo character on the new Fargo TV series, is like the character Satan in Mark Twain's final novel, The Mysterious Stranger.
Hellen Keller and Mark Twain in side by side black and white photographs

History’s Other Odd Couple: Mark Twain and Helen Keller

Helen Keller and Mark Twain's unusual friendship.
Scene of a parade from the 2014 movie Annie.

Our Obsession with Orphans: A Short History from Jane Eyre to Annie

Little Orphan Annie is the latest in a sequence of pop culture foundlings, but America’s orphans of the Great Depression weren’t endearing at all.