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As if the cover wasn't creepy enough
press.umsystem.edu — “A very clear, ground breaking study of transvestism in Mark Twain’s works. Linda Morris is tackling a subject that has become of increasing interest in recent years, and she is doing so more broadly than most scholars have attempted to, bringing together both short and long works produced over a broad span of Twain’s writing life.”
GratefulGroover- 42 diggs
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- j0npau1, on 05/06/2008, -0/+4There's actually a book about that? I can't believe I've gone my whole life thinking Pudd'nhead -wasn't- some literary cry for help from Mark Twain's feminine side.
- stonebear, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5This is a fascinating subject for literati. When I was in college, the excerpt from the rough draft of Huckleberry Finn in our textbook (NAAL) included the rather *****-erotic chapter where Huck is secretly admiring some hunky bargemen as they party late at night. After he is discovered lurking, they strip him naked, bind him, and paint him blue (?) before he manages to escape into the night in nothing but his blue birthday suit. Mrs. Clemens was uncomfortable with it, and so it was edited out of the final draft.
The professor said Twain would probably have edited it out anyway, as it served no purpose in the story, but I think it did serve an economic purpose: Twain, who did consider himself a businessman, may have been including such morsels to cultivate a gay market for his work, which would have made sense given the very high rate of literacy among fancy boys of the era. Homosexual or transvestite themes do not necessarily mean Twain had a propensity for them himself (not that there's anything wrong with that). - MarkusGarvey, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3well that certainly explains a lot...
(insert O RLY)... - TimberWolfGirl, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Hahaha!!!!! I had a good friend who went to Catholic school who had to read Mark Twain books.
- TheMinimalist, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1I love MT! He was always unafraid to venture into dangerous topics and use his humor to do it! Way ahead of his time. Looks like a fun read.
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