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?