TWAIN-L Archives

Mark Twain Forum

TWAIN-L@YORKU.CA

Options: Use Classic View

Use Proportional Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Lawrence Howe <[log in to unmask]>
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:28:16 -0600
text/plain (14 lines)
Barbara--

True enough, Essex is the man whom Roxie boasts is the father of "Tom."  But
there's a notebook entry (sorry I don't have the source handy) showing that
in an earlier conception of the story Twain planned to have PERcy Driscoll
as the father of both his legitimate son and Chambers, the son of Roxy.
This would make the indistinguishability between the two infants more
realistically plausible.

Why he veered away from this to have Essex as the father of Chambers is
either beyond my recall or not known.

--LH

ATOM RSS1 RSS2