Description

One evening in late 1906, seventy-one-year-old Mark Twain joined a gathering on trademark legislation in the Library of Congress. The appearance of the well-known writer triggered the typical stir—but subsequently Twain became popular his overcoat to disclose a "snow white" designed fit and scandalized the area. His surprising ensemble shocked and pleased his competitors, but much more than that, as Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden exhibits in this fantastic new resource, Twain had superbly staged this work of showmanship to cement his picture, and his particular tale, while in the public's imagination. That morning in Washington, significantly less than four years before his death, marked the start of a lively, tumultuous time in Twain's life that might form a lot of the now-well-known picture through which he's become known—America's indomitable symbol, the Person in White.Although Mark Twain has long been among our most precious fictional figures—Time journal has announced him "our unique celebrity"—his closing years have been mostly misunderstood.