Greg,

The answer to your question is "Jesus H. Christ, YES, Paine's bio absolutely
distorts Twain's life!"   Twain more than once admitted Paine was a "pain"
before the biography was published.  Twain's sentiment was an accurate
premonition.

Precisely what extent Paine distorted reality (or even his perceptions of
it) will forever remain a mystery.  However, one is safe to say that Paine
changed things as he & Clara saw fit.  Paranoia & goals regarding perfection
of Twain's legacy seemed to override the truth in many instances.  Indeed
the "Clara-fication of Mark Twain" [as my friend Kent Rasmussen phrases it
(aka "arkent" on this forum)] raises suspicion in areas where Twain's
reputation was already well established.

Paine wrote & edited portions of Twain's Mysterious Stranger and pawned it
all as Twain.  We still don't know Clara's role in this outright fraud.

That said, however, the Paine bio is an  important & indispensable reference
work.  Despite its faults, it amazingly still rates a great deal higher in
truth & content than many more modern biographies!!

Hope this helps,

Bob

Re- What is the consensus on Albert Bigelow Paine's biography?  Does he
distort Twain's life?