Description
Book SynopsisAt the end of his long life, Samuel Clemens felt driven to write a truthful account of what he regarded as the flaws in his character and the errors of his ways. Tracing the theme of bad faith in all of Clemens' major writing, this book sheds light on a tormented moral life.
Trade Review...Robinson has created a valuable inroad for a deeper understanding of Clemens and his work.. * —American Literary Realism *
Illuminating and provocative . . . well worth the attention of anyone who cares about this complex and intriguing author.
---—Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Stanford UniversityRemind[s] us of the source of Twin's dark ramblings—his own horror- and grief-filled experience—and to consider in compelling, and sometimes ingenious, ways how they are revealed in the author's fiction. * —The New England Quarterly *
Forrest Robinson's The Author-Cat is fine cognac distilled from the life and works of Twain. He eloquently explores the author's psyche and art. Robinson does more in two-hundred pages than many do in a thousand -- and in delicious prose."
---—Terrell Dempsey, author of Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's WorldRobinson helps to prove one of his fundamental assumptions, that we are seldom able to separate authors' lives, their intentions, and their works. * —M/C Reviews *
Robinson obviously wants to be careful with his psychoanalyzing, trying not to overstep what he feels can be claimed from the texts. In addition, his textual evidence is comprehensive, found not just in fictions but in letters and manuscripts, composing a persuasive image of Samuel Clemens and his bad faith performances. * —Studies in American Humor *
An interesting topic, this book would be worth reading along with Twain's 'Autobiography,' Twain's final attempt to reveal his dark side. * —Santa Cruz Sentinel *
To read this book is to participate in a study of Samuel Clemens' creative imagination and the guilty conscience that drove him toward auto-biographical confession. Yet, it was fiction and its forms—stories, novels, dreams—that gave his imagination access to the rich material of his experience.
Writing with patience, clarity, and perception, Robinson literally feels his way into the lives and psychic enery of Mark Twain's characters.
This book is both a gift and a challenge: a comprehensive reading of Mark Twain's major work that will help every reader; and a critical vision of Samuel Clemens' writiing that will confront every future writer on the subject.
---—James M. Cox, Professor Emeritus, Dartmouth CollegeRobinson succeeds in presenting a portrait of Samuel Clemens as a tortured soul who never escaped guilt and who was an ineffectual 'author-cat' at burying his shame. * —Mark Twain Forum *
