Hal,
    From Neider's "Papa" introduction on, I've never seen anything more than
intriguing speculation on the relationship between Susy Clemens and Louise
Brownell; meaning nothing conclusive one way or another. Tom Tenney brought
this
to my attention before the Neider book was published, and, well, gee, folks,
even the doubtful among us must raise an eyebrow at the sheer intensity of
the
letters. But as Wes already has pointed out, some concessions must be made
to
"19th century vocabulary and behavior."
    That doesn't add any new insight to the discussion, but did you know
that
Susy's friendship with Louise created a link to another great Southern
writer
who settled in the Northeast? Louise Brownell, who taught English literature
at
Cornell, married Dr. Arthur Percy Saunders in 1901. She named her second
daughter Olivia, and Susy's full name was, of course, Olivia Susan Clemens.
How's that for intriguing? Known as Via, Olivia Saunders became the first
wife
of Tennessee native James Agee, whose works included acclaimed novels ("A
Death
in the Family" and "The Morning Watch"), poetry ("Permit Me Voyage"),
journalism
("Let Us Now Praise Famous Men"), film criticism ("Agee on Film") and
screenplays ("The African Queen" and "The Night of the Hunter"). Impressive
for
a writer who only lived to be 45. He was posthumously award the Pulitzer
Prize
for "A Death in the Family." Via was interviewed at great length for
documentary
filmmaker Ross Spears' Oscar-nominated biography, "Agee." She gave no
indication
of knowing that she may have been named for Mark Twain's daughter (who was
named
for Mark Twain's wife). And Ross and other Agee scholars I've known have
been
unaware of the Twain connection.
    None of that is helpful, I'm sure, but there you go, trivia buffs: a few
more scraps for the intrigue pile.

    Mark Dawidziak