Dear Matt & Max-- That quote appears to come from here: *https://www.radicalteatowel.com/radical-history-blog/the-radical-politics-of-mark-twain/ <https://www.radicalteatowel.com/radical-history-blog/the-radical-politics-of-mark-twain/>* . I hope this is helpful. Best regards-- Warren Warren Miller, CPA, CFA Lexington, Virginia On Wed, Dec 8, 2021 at 1:45 PM Matthew Seybold <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I'm pretty sure the source of this quote is actually Helen Scott, from an > essay originally published in the *International Socialist Review *in 2000 > and republished on the Socialist Worker website some years later. This > quote made its way to Wikipedia, into a paragraph that has been plagiarized > frequently by blogs and bios, and though the source is part of the Wiki > entry, the plagiarists often remove the footnote and adjust the phrasing > to make it seem like those are Twain's own words. > > The original Helen Scott essay is, in my opinion, a pretty nice revisionist > Twain mini-bio, and I think her characterization of the Elmirans Twain came > in contact with is accurate. For more about them, you can see my essays on > "The Gospel of Revolt." > > https://socialistworker.org/2010/04/21/the-twain-they-didnt-teach > > https://marktwainstudies.com/about/mark-twain-in-elmira/ > > *Matt Seybold, PhD* > Associate Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies > Scholar-in-Residence, Center for Mark Twain Studies > Editor, MarkTwainStudies.org > Host, The American Vandal Podcast > <https://marktwainstudies.com/the-american-vandal-podcast/> > > Peterson Chapel Vestry, Cowles Hall > [log in to unmask] > MattSeybold.com > <https://www.elmira.edu/> > > > On Wed, Dec 8, 2021 at 12:30 PM Max Wallace <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > 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 > > >