Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 150, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1919 — Reverses as Business Man Credited With Making Mark Twain a Successful Writer [ARTICLE]

Reverses as Business Man Credited With Making Mark Twain a Successful Writer

Mark Twain’s failure as a business man is said to have made him a greater writer, instead of having discouraged the humorist In his work. It was in 1894 that his publishers crashed, after having published “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The American Claimant.” The first work was a success, but the second met with reverses. When the publishers found themselves In difficulty they saddled the whole burden on Twain, and he took It without a murmur. Had he not failed In business Twain might have been content to rest on his laurels. Instead he went about paying his debts. His tour around the world was undertaken expressly for that purpose. It was a very successful tour, crowds turning out to hear the famous American. A product of his tour was “Following the Equator,” which was a financial success. Having abandoned his desire to become a business man he then settled down to writing. In 1896 he published “Pudd’nhead Wilson," and “The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” came in 1897. His critical essays and “Autobiography” were noteworthy productions, written in a different vein than his works before he devoted his entire life to writing. Twain always hated sham or pretense. He was a lover of the frank, open-hearted man, which explains his great hold on his public.