Portrait Artist Susan Boone Durkee

Visit Portrait Artist Susan B. Durkee's website to see more artwork from the Lobster Pot Studio.

Mark Twain Stormfield Project 1908-2010

"Home-grown" historian Brent Colley has expanded his interest in Redding history to include a focus on Mark Twain's life here.

Laura Trombley - Excerpt - Mark Twain's Other Woman: The hidden story of his final years

Laura Trombley's fifth book, Mark Twain's Other Woman, will be published by Knopf on March 16, 2010.

The Mark Twain Papers and Project

The Bancroft Library at University of California at Berkeley is the repository of many of Samuel Clemens' private papers. With the addition of photocopies and transcriptions from other institutions, the project has made it possible to read virtually every document in Twain's hand known to survive. The project is systematically publishing this material in print editions, and is beginning to make it available online. A complete index to 11,000 letters is accessible on the archive website now, and the archive is working to place its entire photographic holdings online.

Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies

Samuel Clemens spent a great deal of time in Elmira, New York. His wife was born there, he was married there and most of his children were born there. In addition, Clemens enjoyed almost 20 summers at his in-law's Quarry Farm in Elmira, where he worked on his most famous books. He, his wife, and his children are buried in Elmira's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Elmira College has built on these associations to become a center for research on Twain's literary legacy, promoting Twain scholarship through research grants and academic conferences. In recent years, it has also received a number of interesting collections of materials on Mark Twain's life.

The Mark Twain House and Museum

Samuel Clemens and his family lived in a 19-room mansion in the Nook Farm neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut, for almost twenty years, until financial problems forced them to reduce expenses by embarking on a worldwide fundraising lecture tour. The house, just an hour's drive from Redding, has now been fully restored; a museum wing, holding almost 50,000 items relating to Mark Twain's life, was recently opened. The website allows a virtual tour of the distinctive house and access to some of the museum's collection for those who cannot make the trip.

Mark Twain Quotations, Newspaper Collections and Related Resources

This site has what it describes as an unequalled directory of Twain quotations, extensively indexed, and illustrated with rare Twain photographs. It also includes an outstanding collection of full-text articles from contemporary newspapers, including extensive selections of Twain's articles from his days as a reporter in California, hundreds of articles about Twain from the New York Times, and the text of many interviews.

Mark Twain in his times

A University of Virginia professor provides a fascinating insight into how Mark Twain's books were received at the time they were published.

Mark Twain Scrapbook

This site, excerpted from Ken Burns' acclaimed documentary on Mark Twain, provides an interactive look at Mark Twain through his writings and artifacts.

Mark Twain Forum (including "About Mark Twain")

This is the home of TWAIN-L, the listserv for the Mark Twain Forum, which promotes discussion among "persons having a scholarly interest in the life and times of Mark Twain"; archives of the listserv dating from 1992 can be accessed. The site also offers reviews of the many books that continue to be published about Mark Twain and provides links to some scholarly articles as well.

Of particular note is "About Mark Twain", which provides information appropriate for upper elementary and secondary school students. Included is a biography of Samuel Clemens and a timeline of his life, summaries of 16 of his books, descriptions of his friends and acquaintances, and so on.

The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Humor

Since 1998, the Kennedy Center has awarded the Mark Twain Prize for Humor "to recognize those who create humor from their uniquely American experiences".