Will Mark Twain, a bestselling author in the 19th Century, be a 21st Century bestselling author? It almost sounds like a plot to one of Twain’s books along the lines of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
We’ll soon find out the answer. When Twain (a.k.a. Samuel Clemens) died in 1910, he left behind 5,000 unedited pages of his memoirs that he had spent the last years of his life writing. He also left behind a note saying that he didn’t want the pages to be published until at least a century after he was gone.
Well, his time is up. This November, the University of California, Berkeley, will publish the first volume of Twain autobiography. It is expected to be the first volume of a trilogy of books that will comprise the autobiography. It is expected to give new insights into Twain’s life; it will certainly give more detail.
No one is certain why Twain wanted the autobiography delayed for so long. They are probably hoping that he has a few fireballs that he will throw in the book.
According to the UK Independent, “A section of the memoir will detail his little-known but scandalous relationship with Isabel Van Kleek Lyon, who became his secretary after the death of his wife Olivia in 1904. Twain was so close to Lyon that she once bought him an electric vibrating sex toy. But she was abruptly sacked in 1909, after the author claimed she had “hypnotised” him into giving her power of attorney over his estate.”