The following review was written for the Mark Twain Forum by Kevin Mac
Donnell:
~~~~~

_Twain's End_. By Lynn Cullen. Gallery Books, 2015. Pp. 342. Hardback.
$26.00. ISBN 978-1-4767-5896-1 (hardback). ISBN 978-1-4767-5898-5 (ebook).


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Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by:
Kevin Mac Donnell


Copyright (c) 2015 Mark Twain Forum. This review may not be published or
redistributed in any medium without permission.


Another Twain't this way comes, and a familiar feeling of dread descends.
Twain'ts can be pastiches, or they can be historical fiction, or they can
simply borrow Mark Twain's characters or plots (and even Twain himself) to
go about their business of being something akin to--but not
actually--Twain. When they are good they can be very very good--Jon
Clinch's Finn (2007) comes to mind--but when they are bad they can be
dreadful.


_Twain's End_ is a historical novel centered on the tortured relationships
between Mark Twain, Isabel Lyon, Clara Clemens, Jean Clemens, Katy Leary,
Ralph Ashcroft, and others during the last years of Twain's life. That
story was first told by Twain himself (who was not sympathetic to Lyon in
1909), ignored by Albert Bigelow Paine (in 1912 and 1935), but told again
by Hamlin Hill (who was sympathetic to Lyon in 1973), Karen Lystra (who was
not so sympathetic to Lyon in 2004), Laura Trombley (who was sympathetic to
Lyon in 2010), and Michael Shelden (who marshalled enough evidence to erase
any sympathies for Lyon or Ashcroft in 2010). It has proven to be one of
the most controversial episodes in Mark Twain's biography, and Twainians
take sides, and become passionate. Was Lyon a thief who kept Jean away from
her father in order to seduce her employer? Was she a devoted innocent
secretary who was treated unfairly by Twain? Did Lyon and/or Ashcroft
conspire together to manipulate Twain in an attempt to take over his
estate? Did Clara have an affair with Will Wark, her accompanist? Did Twain
and Lyon have an affair? Who drank, what did they drink, and when did they
drink it? That feeling of dread just keeps descending.


Lynn Cullen is a successful writer of historical fiction about women
associated with more famous historical figures, with several very good
books to her credit, including a novel about a female student of
Michelangelo, a story about the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella, and a novel about Poe and two of his women. Historical fiction
does not have to stick to facts, but to achieve a sense of authenticity it
can't ignore them either. With so many of the facts in this story in
dispute or unproven, a novel like this one could easily flounder. Cullen
enumerates the sources she read in preparation for this novel. She reviewed
much of the literature on this episode of Twain's life, but she makes no
mention of Hill's book nor Shelden's biography, and a reviewer of one of
her previous books called it "swoon-worthy." I don't swoon easily, but I
can't shake that feeling of dread. The darkness is visible.


There was no need to worry. Readers will quickly sense they are in the
capable hands of a seasoned writer telling a tale populated with characters
who are well-motivated to do exactly what they do--whether or not all of
the action jibes with known historical facts--and whether or not the reader
agrees with Cullen's reimagining of events. That does not mean there are no
moments when the romance edges into swoonish territory, or some facts beg
for minor adjustment, but the story stands on its own and the characters
ring true. Among the distortions of facts that beg correction are Helen
Keller arriving at Stormfield by sleigh (she arrived by carriage), Twain
being given opium (he was given morphine), angelfish pins being made by
Tiffany (they were made in Norway), or Lyon not liking Twain's whiskey
(this did not keep her from drinking it in truly startling quantities; even
late in life she could still drink her visitors under the table). Cullen
also imagines Livy being aware of Lyon's designs on her husband in 1904
(there is no evidence of this), a Twain whose skirt-chasing drove away
servants (there is no evidence of this either), that Twain's first choice
of a name for Stormfield was "Twain's End" (it was "Innocence at Home"),
that Jane Clemens sold her husband's body to a medical college (the family
doctor did perform an autopsy), that Livy had memories of Hawaii (she never
set foot there), or that Halley's Comet streaked across the sky (comets do
not streak like shooting stars or rowdy British soccer fans). But even when
stacked up, these are trivial and immaterial to the main action of the
story.


It is Cullen's skill at utilizing historical details and her talent for
setting up convincing scenes that drives her narrative and snares her
readers. The fictionalized dialogue during a card game in chapter four is
clever, authentic, and entertaining, and the dramatic unfolding of events
on the night Stormfield was visited by burglars is so good it pains me not
to spill the beans, but I'm no spoiler. Cullen also provides interesting
twists on the story about Jean attacking Katy Leary and the sleighing
accident involving Clara and Ossip, and she even pays fitting homage to an
image from _The Great Gatsby_. She also includes verbatim extracts from
original newspaper accounts and Twain's Ashcroft-Lyon Manuscript of 1909
(which appears in full in the third volume of _Autobiography of Mark
Twain_, just published), borrows phrases from Twain's letters
("author-cat"), inserts some modern jargon just for fun ("irrational
exuberance" and "curb your enthusiasm"), and even sneaks in some literary
allusions for good measure. Her reference to the dancing of the can-can
(_The Innocents Abroad_) is accurate, as is Twain's complaint about heaven
being devoid of sex. Other details are also historically accurate, like
Twain reading _Eve's Diary_ to Helen Keller, the unfinished fountain under
the pergola at Stormfield, the trip to Halifax by Clara and Lyon, the
mention of a book from Mark Twain's library, and Lyon's abrupt eviction
from the Lobster Pot.


By now, some Twainians may be wondering about the plot and exactly what
action takes place in this story. More examples of Cullen's use of
historical facts and her fanciful reimaginings of them could be mentioned,
but some are central to the plot and can't be discussed without revealing
the outcome. All I can say is that those questions posed earlier do get
answered, and whether the reader agrees with Cullen's conclusions--and I
don't--this Twain't is a provocative and entertaining read. Dread be gone!