Mark Twain

TWAIN, MARK, 1835 to 1910

Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835-1910), born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American humorist, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Also wrote as J. W. Bothwell, Quintus Curtius Snodgrass, Sieur Louis de Conte, Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass

Books
25
Editions tracked
49
First editions
10
Nationality
United States

WikidataOpen LibrarySearch within Mark Twain

About Mark Twain

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 to 1910), the American humorist and novelist who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).

He was born on 30 November 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and grew up in Hannibal on the Mississippi. He worked as a printer and typesetter, then as a Mississippi riverboat pilot, before turning to journalism in Nevada, where he first used the name Mark Twain while writing for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City. He died on 21 April 1910 at his house, Stormfield, in Redding, Connecticut.

His travel book The Innocents Abroad (1869) made his name. From 1874 to 1891 he lived in a house on Farmington Avenue in Hartford, Connecticut, where he produced much of his best-known work: Roughing It (1872), The Gilded Age (1873, with Charles Dudley Warner), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Life on the Mississippi (1883), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889). Several first editions came from the American Publishing Company of Hartford, and in 1884 he set up Charles L. Webster and Company with his nephew by marriage, Charles L. Webster; Huckleberry Finn was its first book.

For collectors. For his two best-known novels the London edition came first. Tom Sawyer was published, without illustrations, by Chatto & Windus in June 1876, ahead of the illustrated American Publishing Company edition of December 1876. Huckleberry Finn appeared from Chatto & Windus in the UK and Canada on 10 December 1884, two months before the American edition from Charles L. Webster on 18 February 1885. In the American first edition, an unidentified engraver altered the plate of E. W. Kemble's picture of Silas Phelps on page 283 to add an indecent detail; around 30,000 copies had been printed before it was spotted and a new plate made.

For collectors

Collect Mark Twain

Earliest first editionThe Adventures of Tom SawyerChatto & Windus, 1876 Most editions trackedAdventures of Huckleberry Finn3 editions
First published by
Series
Reading guide

Mark Twain books in order

In publication order

  1. 1The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County1867
  2. 2The Innocents Abroad1869
  3. 3Roughing It1872
  4. 4The Gilded Age1873
  5. 5Sketches New and Old1875
  6. 6The Adventures of Tom Sawyer1876
  7. 7A Tramp Abroad1880
  8. 8The Prince and the Pauper1881
  9. 9Life on the Mississippi1883
  10. 10Adventures of Huckleberry Finn1884
  11. 11A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court1889
  12. 12The American Claimant1892
Show all 25 books in order
  1. 13The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson1894
  2. 14Tom Sawyer Abroad1894
  3. 15Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc1896
  4. 16Tom Sawyer, Detective1896
  5. 17Following the Equator1897
  6. 18Christian Science1899
  7. 19The Autobiography of Mark Twain1906
  8. 20The Mysterious Stranger1916
  9. 21The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories1922
  10. 22The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain1957
  11. 23Letters from the Earth1962
  12. 24Tom Sawyer1966
  13. 25Uncertain Endings2006

By series

Tom Sawyer books 4 books
  1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1876
  2. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1884
  3. Tom Sawyer Abroad 1894
  4. Tom Sawyer, Detective 1896
In order

First editions, year by year

  1. 1876The Adventures of Tom SawyerChatto & Windus
  2. 1881The Prince and the PauperDawson Brothers
  3. 1884Adventures of Huckleberry FinnChatto & Windus
  4. 1916The Mysterious StrangerHarper
  5. 1922The Mysterious Stranger and Other StoriesHarper & Bros
  6. 1957The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain [pseud.] Now Collected for the First TimeDoubleday
  7. 1962Letters from the EarthHarper & Row
  8. 1966Tom SawyerRandom House
  9. 2006Uncertain EndingsPegasus Books
Books and editions

Which edition do you have?

Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

What order should I read Mark Twain's books in?

In publication order they begin with The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1867), then The Innocents Abroad (1869) and Roughing It (1872). Books in a series are listed in series order on this page.

What was Mark Twain's first book?

The earliest book we list is The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, first published in 1867.

When was Mark Twain born?

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and died in 1910.

How many Mark Twain books does MyVolumes track?

We track 25 books by Mark Twain across 49 editions, 10 of them first editions.

How do I know if my Mark Twain book is a first edition?

Open the book's page here and compare the publisher, place, date and the issue points we list for the first printing with your copy's title page and copyright page.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026.

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