Roughing It

About this book

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known as "Mark Twain," left Missouri in 1861 to work with his brother, the newly appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory. Once settled in Nevada, Clemens fell victim to gold fever and went to the Humboldt mines. When prospecting lost its attractions, Clemens found work as a reporter in Virginia City. In 1864, Clemens moved to California and worked as a reporter in San Francisco. It was there that he began to establish a nationwide reputation as a humorist. Roughing it (1891), first published in 1872, is his account of his adventures in the Far West. He devotes twenty chapters to the overland journey by boat and stagecoach to Carson City, including several chapters on the Mormons. Next come chronicles of mining life and local politics and crime in Virginia City and San Francisco and even a junket to the Hawaiian Islands. The book closes with his return to San Francisco and his introduction to the lecture circuit.

Subjects

  • 19th century
  • american authors
  • american fiction (fictional works by one author)
  • american literature
  • authors, american -- homes and haunts -- west (u.s.)
  • biography
  • business
  • children's fiction
  • christian science
  • controversial literature
  • description and travel
  • fiction
  • fiction, action & adventure
  • hawaii, description and travel
  • homes and haunts
  • intellectual life
  • journeys
  • law
  • law and politics
  • mines and mineral resources
  • political aspects
  • sex instruction for youth
  • sexual ethics
  • sexual ethics for teenagers
  • travel
  • twain, mark, 1835-1910
  • twain, mark, 1835-1910 -- travel -- west (u.s.)
  • voyages and travels
  • voyages around the world
  • west (u.s.)
  • west (u.s.) -- description and travel
  • west (u.s.), description and travel
  • west (u.s.) -- intellectual life -- 19th century