Mark Twain by Ron Chernow review – the story of America’s first literary celebrity, from the author of Hamilton
A definitive new biography takes in adventures on the Mississippi, racist stereotypes and get-rich-quick schemes
In his lifetime, Mark Twain was the greatest literary celebrity the world had ever known. In the US, he hobnobbed with presidents; on his many travels, he would dine privately with the German kaiser, the Austrian emperor, or the Prince of Wales. Visiting England to collect an honorary degree from Oxford University, he was cheered off his ship by the stevedores of the London docks, before making his way to Windsor Castle for tea with the king and queen.