Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

When Mark Twain died in 1910, he left behind half a million words of autobiographical writing. The question of how to organize this wealth of material continues to bedevil editors. But there is one text, published under Twain’s supervision, that can be considered authentic. “CHAPTERS FROM MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY” were published in the North American Review in 1906-07 and contain a unified account of Twain’s life in his own unmistakeable voice. More than just a story of a literary career, it reveals his family life and rambunctious boyhood.MARK TWAIN’S OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY stands as the last of his great yarns. Here he tells his own story in his own way, freely expressing his joys and sorrows, his affections and hatreds, his rages and revenges.