Mark Twain & France The Making of a New American Identity.
- Univ of Missouri Pr 2017.
- 1 online resource.
Includes bibliographies and index.
List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Timeline of the Clemenses in France: 1867-1895; Introduction; Chapter One. Accounting for the Creoles: 1835-60; Chapter Two. Leaving the River: 1861-66; Chapter Three. France for the First Time: 1867-69; Chapter Four. Jumping the French: 1870-78; Chapter Five. Paris from the Inside: 1879; Chapter Six. Less to Prove: 1880-92; Chapter Seven. Coming to Terms: 1893-99; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Blending cultural history, biography, and literary criticism, this book explores how one of America's greatest icons used the French to help build a new sense of what it is to be "American" in the second half of the nineteenth century. While critics have generally dismissed Mark Twain's relationship with France as hostile, Harrington and Jenn see Twain's use of the French as a foil to help construct his identity as "the representative American." Examining new materials that detail his Montmatre study, the carte de visite album, and a chronology of his visits to France, the book offers close readings of writings that have been largely ignored, such as The Innocents Adrift manuscript and the unpublished chapters of A Tramp Abroad, combining literary analysis, socio-historical context and biographical research.
National characteristics, French, in literature. National characteristics, American, in literature. Authors, American--History--France--19th century. Americans--History--France--19th century.