About the Author

Leland Krauth is an associate professor of English at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Reviews

A significant contribution to Mark Twain studies and to our knowledge of themes current in nineteenth-century literature in general. On the 'personal' side Krauth invariably introduces little-known details. On the 'literary' side, as he compares and contrasts specific works, his observations concerning each author's treatment of certain themes are truly insightful. And among other excellences Krauth's lively style makes the work a real pleasure to read.--Howard G. Baetzhold "Butler University"

A solid and lasting contribution to Twain studies. Original in conception and insightful in execution, Mark Twain & Company sheds provocative cross-lights on Mark Twain and the literary guild he belonged to.--Tom V. Quirk "author of Mark Twain: A Study of the Short Fiction"

Krauth has the rare ability to write for both the masses (at least the Twainiac masses) and an academic audience. The book is extremely well-researched and eminently readable. It breaks ground, I think, in fusing Twain with the establishment of cross-cultural Victorian studies, and it does so with a flair often absent in academic writing.--Jeffrey W. Miller "Mark Twain Forum"

This rich and learned book is incapable of advancing an idea that isn't surprising, sensitive, and right. Written with a deep assurance and steady wit, the book also maintains a sweet-hearted regard for the reader, making it as fun to read as Twain himself. This is the most capacious and important book on Twain to appear in many decades.--James R. Kincaid "University of Southern California"

While intending primarily to enrich our perspectives on Mark Twain's writings (and succeeding), Krauth raises Twain's intellectual as well as his artistic stature still higher. Conducting comparisons without making comparative judgments, Krauth examines some of Twain's major contemporaries to refresh, realign, and expand our insights into his work. This is a keen-minded yet appreciative, highly readable yet penetrating, widely learned yet reader-friendly book.--Louis J. Budd "Duke University"

A fascinating account . . . Krauth makes it clear that his purpose is not to examine the life and works of Mark Twain 'in the borad field of some particular literary fashion or movement, but in the narrower corridor of his personal acquaintanceship.' . . . He accomplishes this goal convincingly and compellingly.--Southern Review

Krauth brings to light Twain's ingenious, and often subtle, depictions and criticisms of gender, Victorian morality, and American imperialism, among other matters. . . . He does not fashion a new image of Twain, but rather adds complexities to the standard image so that this paradigmatic and in some ways revolutionary American author 'continues to elude exact critical focus.'--University Press Book Review

Krauth's clearly written book displays Twain as a professional writer and humorist in an international setting and reveals him as a mature, world-class, and unique writer.--Choice