This review rings true. Variations on a bio of Twain makes pretty good music? In my heart, I feel Mr. Clemens would welcome a well-written batch of lies as long as we know it is fiction, and is more like lightning than a lightning bug. "Why shouldn't the truth be stranger than fiction? " You know the second line. > Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 08:02:53 -0500 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: BOOK REVIEW: _Twain's End_, by Lynn Cullen > To: [log in to unmask] > > The following review was written for the Mark Twain Forum by Kevin Mac > Donnell: > ~~~~~ > > _Twain's End_. By Lynn Cullen. Gallery Books, 2015. Pp. 342. Hardback. > $26.00. ISBN 978-1-4767-5896-1 (hardback). ISBN 978-1-4767-5898-5 (ebook). > > > Many books reviewed on the Forum are available at discounted prices from > the TwainWeb Bookstore, and purchases from this site generate commissions > that benefit the Mark Twain Project. Please visit <http://www.twainweb.net>. > > > Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by: > Kevin Mac Donnell > > > Copyright (c) 2015 Mark Twain Forum. This review may not be published or > redistributed in any medium without permission. > > > Another Twain't this way comes, and a familiar feeling of dread descends. > Twain'ts can be pastiches, or they can be historical fiction, or they can > simply borrow Mark Twain's characters or plots (and even Twain himself) to > go about their business of being something akin to--but not > actually--Twain. When they are good they can be very very good--Jon > Clinch's Finn (2007) comes to mind--but when they are bad they can be > dreadful. > > > _Twain's End_ is a historical novel centered on the tortured relationships > between Mark Twain, Isabel Lyon, Clara Clemens, Jean Clemens, Katy Leary, > Ralph Ashcroft, and others during the last years of Twain's life. That > story was first told by Twain himself (who was not sympathetic to Lyon in > 1909), ignored by Albert Bigelow Paine (in 1912 and 1935), but told again > by Hamlin Hill (who was sympathetic to Lyon in 1973), Karen Lystra (who was > not so sympathetic to Lyon in 2004), Laura Trombley (who was sympathetic to > Lyon in 2010), and Michael Shelden (who marshalled enough evidence to erase > any sympathies for Lyon or Ashcroft in 2010). It has proven to be one of > the most controversial episodes in Mark Twain's biography, and Twainians > take sides, and become passionate. Was Lyon a thief who kept Jean away from > her father in order to seduce her employer? Was she a devoted innocent > secretary who was treated unfairly by Twain? Did Lyon and/or Ashcroft > conspire together to manipulate Twain in an attempt to take over his > estate? Did Clara have an affair with Will Wark, her accompanist? Did Twain > and Lyon have an affair? Who drank, what did they drink, and when did they > drink it? That feeling of dread just keeps descending. > > > Lynn Cullen is a successful writer of historical fiction about women > associated with more famous historical figures, with several very good > books to her credit, including a novel about a female student of > Michelangelo, a story about the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen > Isabella, and a novel about Poe and two of his women. Historical fiction > does not have to stick to facts, but to achieve a sense of authenticity it > can't ignore them either. With so many of the facts in this story in > dispute or unproven, a novel like this one could easily flounder. Cullen > enumerates the sources she read in preparation for this novel. She reviewed > much of the literature on this episode of Twain's life, but she makes no > mention of Hill's book nor Shelden's biography, and a reviewer of one of > her previous books called it "swoon-worthy." I don't swoon easily, but I > can't shake that feeling of dread. The darkness is visible. > > > There was no need to worry. Readers will quickly sense they are in the > capable hands of a seasoned writer telling a tale populated with characters > who are well-motivated to do exactly what they do--whether or not all of > the action jibes with known historical facts--and whether or not the reader > agrees with Cullen's reimagining of events. That does not mean there are no > moments when the romance edges into swoonish territory, or some facts beg > for minor adjustment, but the story stands on its own and the characters > ring true. Among the distortions of facts that beg correction are Helen > Keller arriving at Stormfield by sleigh (she arrived by carriage), Twain > being given opium (he was given morphine), angelfish pins being made by > Tiffany (they were made in Norway), or Lyon not liking Twain's whiskey > (this did not keep her from drinking it in truly startling quantities; even > late in life she could still drink her visitors under the table). Cullen > also imagines Livy being aware of Lyon's designs on her husband in 1904 > (there is no evidence of this), a Twain whose skirt-chasing drove away > servants (there is no evidence of this either), that Twain's first choice > of a name for Stormfield was "Twain's End" (it was "Innocence at Home"), > that Jane Clemens sold her husband's body to a medical college (the family > doctor did perform an autopsy), that Livy had memories of Hawaii (she never > set foot there), or that Halley's Comet streaked across the sky (comets do > not streak like shooting stars or rowdy British soccer fans). But even when > stacked up, these are trivial and immaterial to the main action of the > story. > > > It is Cullen's skill at utilizing historical details and her talent for > setting up convincing scenes that drives her narrative and snares her > readers. The fictionalized dialogue during a card game in chapter four is > clever, authentic, and entertaining, and the dramatic unfolding of events > on the night Stormfield was visited by burglars is so good it pains me not > to spill the beans, but I'm no spoiler. Cullen also provides interesting > twists on the story about Jean attacking Katy Leary and the sleighing > accident involving Clara and Ossip, and she even pays fitting homage to an > image from _The Great Gatsby_. She also includes verbatim extracts from > original newspaper accounts and Twain's Ashcroft-Lyon Manuscript of 1909 > (which appears in full in the third volume of _Autobiography of Mark > Twain_, just published), borrows phrases from Twain's letters > ("author-cat"), inserts some modern jargon just for fun ("irrational > exuberance" and "curb your enthusiasm"), and even sneaks in some literary > allusions for good measure. Her reference to the dancing of the can-can > (_The Innocents Abroad_) is accurate, as is Twain's complaint about heaven > being devoid of sex. Other details are also historically accurate, like > Twain reading _Eve's Diary_ to Helen Keller, the unfinished fountain under > the pergola at Stormfield, the trip to Halifax by Clara and Lyon, the > mention of a book from Mark Twain's library, and Lyon's abrupt eviction > from the Lobster Pot. > > > By now, some Twainians may be wondering about the plot and exactly what > action takes place in this story. More examples of Cullen's use of > historical facts and her fanciful reimaginings of them could be mentioned, > but some are central to the plot and can't be discussed without revealing > the outcome. All I can say is that those questions posed earlier do get > answered, and whether the reader agrees with Cullen's conclusions--and I > don't--this Twain't is a provocative and entertaining read. Dread be gone!