On Mon, 8 Jul 1996 [log in to unmask] wrote: > Has Clemens's short story "The Black Prince's Cat", written in 1896 yet > appeared in any collection of his short stories or essays? Or any > critical analysis of it? > > Barb > That's an interesting question. This piece survives in MTP both in a holograph manuscript (on which Paine has written "probably 1896") and in at least two typescripts, one with Clemens's holograph changes, both with the notation at the top, "London, 1899 or 1900." The assumption to date has been that this manuscript was left unpublished by Clemens, but the very existence of a typescript suggests that he was interested in publishing it, and may have tried to do so, possibly in McClure's (there is a penciled "Mc" at the top of the autographed typescript). On a quick look, the manuscript seems to have been rescued from a longer work or chapter, very possibly Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. Its pagination begins with number 14, and the first sentence has been fashioned by adding a penciled phrase to begin the sentence (the rest is in ink). So if you've found it published in 1896, that in itself is a great stride forward. If not, then it remains at least in theory unpublished and of course uncollected. I'm not aware of any critical comment on it. Bob Hirst