Sorry to send that out to the list, although it may be of some interest
anyway.

In fact I did have a query that got mixed up with the other, so here it is:

The older idea of dark period, from mid 1890s or so to the end, of Twain's
life -- a la Hamlin Hill, or DeVoto's symbols of despair-- what is the
general consensus on that nowadays??  I know there has been some recent
critical work questioning that general idea.  What have LIST-members found
most helpful and convincing on this score??

Personally I am working through that period for my book project and as I
read the stuff MT wrote during this time, esp. after 1896, it is pretty
dark, pretty negative, and very despairing.  So I am having trouble seeing
this period as not somehow radically darker and more miserable than the
"major period" that I associate mainly with Hartford and Elmira.

Opinions??

Best,

Harold K. Bush, Jr.
Saint Louis University