Summary
A delightful collection of diverse tales, ranging from short stories and personal essays to literary criticism and travel pieces, The £1,000,000 Bank-Note gathers together nine works, many of which are now unobtainable elsewhere, that testify to the range of Twain's humor and the breadth of his interests. "The £1,000,000 Bank-Note," one of Twain's best-loved tales, is a wish-fulfillment fantasy in which a bet between two rich English eccentrics catapults a down-and-out clerk from San Francisco into wealth, status and fame in London society. The other pieces range from "Mental Telegraphy," a serious essay reflecting Twain's interest in extrasensory perception, to a tongue-in-cheek "Petition to the Queen of England" for relief from taxes. Readers will also find engaging travel essays, combining autobiographical reminiscence, tall tales, and ruminations on society and culture.
Mark Twain was born Samuel L. Clemens in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He worked as a printer, and then became a steamboat pilot. He traveled throughout the West, writing humorous sketches for newspapers. In 1865, he wrote the short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which was very well received. He then began a career as a humorous travel writer and lecturer, publishing The Innocents Abroad in 1869, Roughing It in 1872, and, Gilded Age in 1873, which was co-authored with Charles Dudley Warner. His best-known works are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mississippi Writing: Life on the Mississippi, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910.
(Bowker Author Biography)
