Hello Twain scholars. I am working on a book for Hachette about Helen
Keller’s political crusades and I have been researching Twain’s friendship
with HK.

In the course of my research, I have frequently come across an alleged
Twain quote about Olivia Langdon but I have not been able to track down a
primary source in any credible biography or Twain quotation database. It
makes me wonder if the quotation is perhaps linked to one dubious original
source or whether it has a genuine root in an obscure Twain speech or
letter.

To quote from one example:

“Through his marriage to the liberal activist Olivia Langdon, Twain came
into close contact with a wider range of radical circles: ‘socialists,
principled atheists and activists for women’s rights and social equality’
is how he described them.”

Does this sound at all familiar? Thanks very much.

- Max Wallace