Thanks to all members of the forum who replied to my question, especially to Barbara Schmidt, who knew the entry in Gribben's book where Twain's comment appeared; I've ordered the Fanning book, too. It's wonderful that a query like mine can get such quick and helpful responses. Thanks also to Leslie Myrick for the tip about Google Books, which I should have tried first. Chris ________________________________ From: Mark Twain Forum on behalf of [log in to unmask] Sent: Thu 10/14/2010 8:52 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Twain's thoughts of suicide The talk of Twain and suicide is prominent in Phillip Fanning's book about= Orion Clemens. Dennis Kelly -----Original Message----- From: Rick Talbot <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Thu, Oct 14, 2010 3:36 pm Subject: Re: Twain's thoughts of suicide Dear Chris, Not marginalia but direct reference....You'll find it in Justin Kaplan's= Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain. Kaplan quotes Twain as he refers to the incident. You should find it in the front of the book. Twain in his early years on= the Pacific Slope had fallen on hard times in San Francisco. Paraphrasing: "There was a time when I put a pistol to my head. Even though I didn't succeed I have never regretted having done so." I thumbed my copy pretty good but didn't locate it, but I know that I did just read it last week as I began my 7th read through of this award winnin= g book. Good luck Rick Talbot -----Original Message----- From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Leslie Myric= k Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 9:16 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Twain's thoughts of suicide Google Books is an excellent tool for queries like this. I entered =20 three terms: Clemens suicide marginalia -- the second hit returned was =20 Phipps' Mark Twain's Religion, p. 53, where in n. 56 he cites =20 Clemsns' copy of the Letters of James Russell Lowell as the source =20 you're seeking. Further searching for corroboration in Gribben or =20 Google Books should nail it. Leslie Myrick On Oct 14, 2010, at 5:34 AM, Christopher D. Morris wrote: > To the members of the Mark Twain Forum, > > I've been trying to track down the source of the story about the =20 > night =3D > in 1866 when Twain considered suicide. Apparently Twain mentioned =20 > the =3D > incident in the margins of a book he was reading in the early 1900s; =3D > I've learned that the particular reference can be found in Alan =3D > Gribben's Mark Twain's Library: A Reconstruction (2 volumes). This =3D > excellent work lists and comments on Twain's books alphabetically, =20 > and =3D > there is no index. So, before I begin with the entry for Abbey's Old =3D > Songs and work my way through to Zurcher's Meteors, I thought I'd =20 > check =3D > to see if anyone knows which particular book the marginalia appears =20 > in. =3D > Thanks to anyone who can help me. > > Christopher Morris =20