Chapters from My Autobiography

Mark Twain (or Samuel Clemens) intended for his autobiography to be published long after he died. He felt that he couldn’t be honest about his experiences and contemporaries if he was worried about the reaction of others. However, in 1906 he agreed to publish selections from the autobiography in the North American Review, from September 1906 through December 1907. The twenty-five “Chapters from My Autobiography” have been brought together in this book. At the beginning of each chapter is the following preface: Prefatory Note — Mr. Clemens began to write his autobiography many years ago, and he continues to add to it day by day. It was his original intention to permit no publication of his memoirs until after his death; but, after leaving “Pier No. 70,” he concluded that a considerable portion might now suitably be given to the public. It is that portion, garnered from the quarter-million of words already written, which will appear in this Review during the coming year. No part of the autobiography will be published in book form during the lifetime of the author. — Editor N. A. R. Eventually the full ‘Autobiography of Mark Twain’ was published after his death.
It is more a lengthy set of anecdotes and ruminations than a traditional autobiography, published in four volumes and comprises some half a million words.