My great,great grandmother lived across the street from young Sam. She became Becky Thatcher in Tom Sawyer and they visited each other in Hannibal. She was a witness at Orion wedding. I grew up with Mark Twain,a truly great American original. Thanks for your video.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Fantastic, what a connection!
@chuckrockel49032 ай бұрын
In Sonora?
@baylorsailorАй бұрын
I thought Becky Thatcher was based on the girl in the house to the left of his boyhood home.
@janegardener16624 ай бұрын
While I've never been able to get into his novels, I've thoroughly enjoyed Twain's travel writings, essays and short stories. A humorist with a tragic life story.
My GFs granddaughter was over to see her grandma and we were talking and I mentioned Mark Twain and she had never heard of him at age 14! Well I went to the book store and bought her Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn . She loved the books and now I've given her books by Stienbeck, Edward Abby, and Ken Kesey. She is quite the reader, very proud of her. 😊
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
It's nice to hear that someone is still reading books.
@elizabethannegrey6285Ай бұрын
Excellent move👏
@Marktheshark-e7fАй бұрын
@@professorgraemeyorston honestly I don't read as much now with the smartphone. In June went camping in the boundary waters, no bars for sure. I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. Only information we had was from a portable radio we needed for weather forecasts
@lilykatmoon45084 ай бұрын
He sounds like a resilient man, who for all his errors in judgment, never gave up on himself, and seems to have always been open to learning and changing. Definitely someone from history I’d love to meet. Brilliant video!
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
All those losses made him resilient and yes, somehow, he remained open and interested in the world, a truly great man.
@bobtaylor1704 ай бұрын
Oh, yes: another fine episode. Please don't stop making these.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@petehaynes5882Ай бұрын
@@professorgraemeyorston are u interested in doing a study of Raymond Chandler?
@nataliewilliams97414 ай бұрын
Of all the great writers that are and have been, Mr. Clemens is far and above my favorite. Thank you for this dive into his history ❣️
@StanGraham14 ай бұрын
Mine as well.
@fj21524 ай бұрын
Thanks for this analysis. I’d add that his “War Prayer” is one of the most powerful anti-war pieces of writing I have encountered.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Very true.
@gerardmazzarese93634 ай бұрын
Mark Twain's friendship with young girls as an old man started with his pleasant correspondence with a young admirer. It expanded from there. I would love it if some famous old writer like Mark Twain would return my daughters letters and befriend them. Letter writing is the closest thing to a spiritual non physical relationship you can get. Nothing here to worry about.
@peterconnell2496Ай бұрын
Agree, but its nasty and harmful to callously dump them when they mature.
@liberty-matrix4 ай бұрын
“The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly, teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” ~ Mark Twain
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Good one.
@brendadrew8344 ай бұрын
A major celebrity ( narc? ) of another bygone era who wrote about the 'Gilded Age" which still exists today, in other ways! I think he collected those sweet little girls because of the profound loss of his two daughters and the loss of his beloved wife. I had three daughters and lost one to Covid19 at age 41 after she had been in a coma like state since she was 25, for 16 years so I know to a degree that kind of great loss, something one never gets over! You can move on and find happiness again, but it's always there sitting on your shoulder! One learns to make friends with grief! Thankfully, I'm close with my other two grown daughters and two beautiful granddaughters, the oldest one my late daughter's. Wish I had gotten to his great big beautiful Victorian home in Hartford, but at least one can tour it online on their website, second best thing to being there! May they all rest in peace~💜💜💜💜💜💜
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I think you're right, he was lonely.
@JenSell16263 ай бұрын
I am deeply sorry for your very long loss.
@brendadrew8343 ай бұрын
@@JenSell1626 Thank you, much appreciated~
@TuckerSP20114 ай бұрын
Wow, thank you for such a well-balanced profile of the great Mark Twain! You put so much work into these biographies and they are so enjoyable to watch. They spark a renewed interest to learn more about these incredible people and I'm very glad to hear your opinion on some of the modern spins and revisionist histories being written. I would prefer simply to re-read his works before the PC police try to prevent us from reading them at all. I can't imagine how a sensitive person such as he was dealt with all the personal losses in his life. I can imagine that his collection of young girls was an attempt to bring joy, innocence and beauty back to his aching heart rather than anything salacious but I don't think anyone will ever know for sure. He sure loved having adventures and traveling, observing and being celebrated while he was alive. He was also a person who recognized injustices and wanted to change the world. A very rich life if you ask me. Again, thank you for your excellent biographical sketch!
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you - I think you've summed him up pretty well yourself!
@shirleyandrews11523 ай бұрын
What an amazing man & what a sad sad life. I think his little angels were a substitute for his daughters lost. ❤️
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
I agree.
@marquiesriley64794 ай бұрын
The quote at the end about life and age is so true yet so sobering….
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
His aphorisms are all so clever and witty, yet very profound.
@liasisboa4 ай бұрын
This Twain program was your best.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@judithlungen69584 ай бұрын
Wonderful series on the great Mark Twain. So much I didn’t know. I would have loved to hear more about his first major journey to Europe and the Holy Land. Life was hard in those years he lived, so many deaths that he faced. He was a true Sagittarius with his love of travel, exploration, learning, sharing, his sense of humor, even unwise investments. He seemed to be a faithful man to his wife, I don’t believe his love of young girls was anything more than the joy of being with innocent, curious, sweet children in those years of puberty. Thank you for your kind loving and interesting views. Very grateful
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it.
@mellissadalby14023 ай бұрын
Absolutely splendid two video series on Mark Twain. Thank you so much for posting it. Mark Twain has always been one my favorite characters of humanity, and you taught me many things about him that i did not already know, for which I am indeed grateful.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thank you, I always like hear that viewers have found something new.
@calendarpage4 ай бұрын
I saw the Twain shorts and wondered why I hadn't heard from you lately. I'm subbed, but I just opted for the notifications. Your material is thought provoking and I often learn something about people I thought I knew.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Welcome aboard - glad you're enjoying them.
@carolinegray7510Ай бұрын
I admire the gentleness with which you examine your subjects. It reminds us of the frailty of all; the myriad circumstances and reactions, wise or unwise, that befall us as we journey to our old age. We amend our past actions with the lessons learned. In a way, we endeavor to share that lesson and revisit the innocence to revel in it with a fuller, wiser appreciation .
@professorgraemeyorstonАй бұрын
Thank you. I like your summation of the journey through life.
@voyaristika56734 ай бұрын
Always enjoy your biographical videos. Recently I ran across a quote that was something like, "It used to be that the facts would change our opinions. Now we use our opinions to change the facts." It sounded very Twain-ish to me, something he'd say in our new age of "my truth" in place of the truth. I really enjoy your historical medicine videos. The ancient Egyptian medicine videos were fascinating. I wonder if you plan more along the lines of the hisory of science/medicine? Thanks for your work!
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
That's a great quote, and so true of the modern age. I am planning to broaden the range of videos over the next year to include more historical pieces.
@freefall14627 күн бұрын
Being a huge fun of Mark Twain's characters, mainly through Tom and Huck stories, I never known much about him and his life. Huge thanks for this one!
@nonosays4 ай бұрын
Love your calm, measured, magnanimous approach. Thanks for this very insightful narrative of a complex and wonderful man.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@bretfisher72864 ай бұрын
Ah, here it is, Professor! Thanks. I've been looking forward to it.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad to oblige!
@mons30204 ай бұрын
Following the Equator is one of my favorite books! You can really see his views come forward, as well as some of his views starting to change from the sights he sees.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I agree, it is a great book.
@TheLolapuff4 ай бұрын
In his recently published autobiography with many of his letters, he writes about his brothers (imo obvious bi-polar) Orions mental anguish and troubles all his life. It’s the most beautiful, kindest writing of that affliction I’ve ever read. Check it out if you can find it. Also, don’t forget his letters back & forth to Helen Keller . So moving and absolutely brilliant from both. I’d love to hear what you think of them Thanks again. Great series!
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you I'll check them out.
@francus72273 ай бұрын
My favorite quote is ,"Travel is toxic to ignorance, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." In judging my friends and family.... Mr. Clemens was correct, and I am VERY lucky to have traveled. I tapped the thumbs up 👍 button to feed the algorithm monsters on both part 1 and this clip, too.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thank you, I couldn't agree more about travel. I think my visits to 95 different countries have been my greatest education.
I've always been a admirer of Mark Twain. I thought I knew something about his life. How wrong I was. This biography is incredibly informative and so well researched. Full of fascinating information about a truly remarkable man. Many thanks to you for this wonderful bio of Mr. Twain. 💙
@GamelanSinarSurya2 ай бұрын
You have created my favorite history channel on KZbin. Great scholarship, fascinating photos, interesting background music and wonderful narration. Much appreciated!
@professorgraemeyorston2 ай бұрын
Glad you like them!
@ruatarengsicolneyrengsi89243 ай бұрын
I really enjoyed listening to your presentation. I think it'superb. Thank for putting it up.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@robinhendrix664 ай бұрын
Thank you for all of the aspects of your presentation on Twain, especially your music choices. I've always loved his irreverent writing. Best wishes from an American woman in beautiful France.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@bonzomcduffy83364 ай бұрын
YOU'RE AMAZING DONT EVER STOP. PLEASE.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I'll try not to!
@ashtonwinter16164 ай бұрын
Thank you most humbly for such an interesting and poignant documentary about Mark Twain’s life and literary journey this was the best perspective perhaps I have ever had the pleasure of watching, thank you 🙏🏻
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
High praise indeed, thank you.
@KimGrey-n9q4 ай бұрын
I have just submersed myself in your Mark Twain broadcast. I enjoy your work . Please keep it up.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you. There are more on the way!
@carlashibayama16144 ай бұрын
Thank you for this lovely documentary..I had no idea about his life..your beautiful speaking voice..it was beautiful 🙏 😊
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@kambrose15494 ай бұрын
What a dynamo he was. Despite all the setbacks he managed to find some way forward.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I agree, he didn't always get things right, but he never stopped trying.
@channel-your-flannel4 ай бұрын
Watching your subscriber count grow fills me with glee. You are amazing!
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you! It is getting close to that 100k mark!
@channel-your-flannel4 ай бұрын
@@professorgraemeyorston Yes! Are you planning anything to celebrate on the channel? Perhaps a 6 hour documentary of Arthur Conan Doyle? I’d watch it in one sitting
@elliepascoe59544 ай бұрын
That is a marvellous idea🎉
@wookiewoo14 ай бұрын
Thank you for presenting this biography of a great writer, humorist, enthusiast for adventure, and brilliant observer of life and of humanity. You have rekindled my interest in reading his novels and a new interest in his other writings. Revisionist historians today are often too quick to judge historical figures with hyper-critiques and suspicions of motive in people who have shaped the world.; e.g. Winston Churchill, David Livingstone and Mark Twain, who lived in a very different time. I look at many, revered today that are just as human and as full of secrets and weakness as those lauded in yesteryear. I tend to be more forgiving of those great minds who did so much that was progressive for their era, and we still benefit from their often flawed genius today.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I'm glad to hear that - I agree - people are judged on whether they used one word or another, and the rest of creative endeavours are ignored.
@Hazmatt47004 ай бұрын
Outstanding episode. Thank you for the diligent work.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@michaelscanlon97473 ай бұрын
EXCELLENT! Highly recommended.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@CKology2 ай бұрын
My idol! Mark Twain! What an amazing story telling skill you have prof! Thanks for this video a mill!
@professorgraemeyorston2 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@doreengowans42613 ай бұрын
Thank you. A thoroughly enjoyable time spent watching and listening to your presentation on Mark Twain.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it.
@InglouriousBradsterd3 ай бұрын
I am so glad I subscribed to your channel. You do a fantastic job. Bravo, young man.
@professorgraemeyorston2 ай бұрын
Thank you, welcome aboard.
@anthonyelwick36004 ай бұрын
I'll admit at first when you told us about the goldfish I was skeptical but when he explained he had no grandchildren it makes you so sad for him.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I think he was just lonely.
@ge0rgeharris2183 ай бұрын
Great video, well thought out! I found it enlightening and informative! I'm waiting for your next video! You presentation is an adventure initself! Very enjoyable!
@prajnaseek3 ай бұрын
Fear & Loathing In Modern Society: Reflections on a very well-done biography of the great, Mark Twain: the writer, the wit, the social critic, and fierce adversary of every kind of injustice, malice and greed Thank you dearly for this very thoughtful biography of Mark Twain. I hate, loathe, and despise gossip, slander; sneering, pejorative, thinly disguised projection and misanthropy; and the presumption of guilt until proven innocent. All of these are great evils, and great poisons of the mind, the heart, the society and the soul. And all of them have become rampant now, if not pandemic. No wonder "Western" "civilization" is collapsing. When a general cynicicism, misanthropy, fear, suspicion and mistrust fills the hearts and minds of the people, along with their ever-present evil spawn, of self-righteousness, empty, hollow virtue signalling, and dark, thinly hidden, self-projected hate, then that society is inevitably doomed - as I am sure Twain himself would agree. "Ye must become as children." A darkened heart is the death of the soul. I trust he was looking for the spark of life in surrogate granddaughters, in his sad and lonely later years. To assume otherwise, would be sheer evil itself, I do believe. And those who forget that freedom of speech, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, are the very foundations of any just, free, stable, or even sane society, are doomed to repeat the past: that is, they will witness the hell of their own society's collapse, as so many have done before. God is the final judge. Let we, who are not omniscient, show some humility, and some simple grace and generosity of spirit, refusing to assume the worst, based upon nothing but our own dark-minded fears, which say more about us, than the accused. To harm a child is the most heinous thing in the world. To presume guilt, based on gossip, suspicion and slander, surely ranks as number two. And furthermore, as Alan Watts so presciently and aptly said, summing up the entire central problem with modern society, as one of the most lucid minds of the entire span of Western intellectual history: "Those who mistrust themselves and others are doomed." Amen. All great evil stems from fear. Let us not feed that demon which devours us, even now. JTR, August 2, 2024
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thank you - I agree that people forming conclusions without having all the facts is a big problem in society today.
@Sunshinekty4620 күн бұрын
I just enjoy your presentations so much 😊 keep up the good work 😊
@professorgraemeyorston18 күн бұрын
Thank you.
@CarolineColebesinger4 ай бұрын
This was so conpleaty enjoyable! Thank you, good Doctor❤
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@paulscottfilms4 ай бұрын
As always from Prof. Yorston, a wonderful journey into character and a careful and light approach to analysis. For me, Mark Twain had a sad life and his peccadilloes were just part of the person. I write quite a lot and I always have difficulty making things succinct. Twain once wrote to a friend, something like > I wanted to write you a short letter but I didn't have time, so this is a long letter.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@carlashibayama16144 ай бұрын
Thank you for this lovely documentary..I had no idea about his life..your beautiful speaking voice..it was beautiful Thankyou🙏🙇
@genekelly84674 ай бұрын
Great lecture! As a Twain fan I appreciate solid info on his life. I has a personal connection (weak) to Twain: my late Father's personal physician was a Serbian-American who's first name was Elmir-he explained to my dad the reason for this rather strange name: The good doctor's father was a professor of English at a Serbian University-his specialty was Mark Twain's works..so muchso that he gave the name of Twain's favorite town (Elmira NY) to his son. Just though I'd add this.
@chadpenner5059Ай бұрын
Thank you doc for your fascinating well researched episodes...such a treat for me and others to look forward to....😊😅
@tomklock5684 ай бұрын
Thank you, I have been looking forward to part two of this one. It is indeed a difficult thing to figure out what made him tick, or not as in the latter days; thank you for your efforts in helping us better understand him and other authors and artists.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@BabaDontKnow3 ай бұрын
Another excellent documentary. Thank you Professor.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@bobtaylor1704 ай бұрын
Another interesting aspect of Twain was his railing atheism, which I've always doubted he believed. His anger against God was personal anger, and it's hard to be angry at a non-existent person. Twain was horrified when Livy told him that his atheism had persuaded her. In the last weeks of his life, he was taken care of by members of a local Presbyterian church. He was grateful for this, and told a friend that it wasn't what he didn't understand about the Bible which scared him, it was what he did understand.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
It is hard to know what he really thought about anything, as he was so often writing to get a reaction.
@bobtaylor1704 ай бұрын
@@professorgraemeyorston I think that's true. A born provocateur.
@christinepaige25754 ай бұрын
One of my favorite memories of a long-ago period I spent online was when several people on an atheism forum (this was long before blogs, vlogs and substacks) were enjoying themselves going on and on about Twain’s contempt for religion. I jumped in to say how curious it was that he had nevertheless written a reverential two-volume biography of St. Joan of Arc. Well that shut them up, for a few minutes at least, because apparently- like so many people! - none of them had ever heard of this work by Twain, which he is said to have considered his finest. I think they immediately sought to verify that I was actually telling the truth; then one of them came back with words to the effect of “Well the critics didn’t think much of it.” LOL!
@JimmyJamesJimbo3 ай бұрын
A “non-existent person”? Hey, maybe he was no Job but it’s difficult to know what he truly believed; you know, him being a jester and all.
@msmith533 ай бұрын
One of his best friends was a minister who accompanied him on his many travels! Read his speeches to get better and more info! He was celebrated here and abroad and learned simple German. His biography of Grant, etc. Too many here reacting only to his novels, not his total works!
@ThisHandleIsNotTaken_Yet2 ай бұрын
Thank You! I enjoyed your video. I love your content
@professorgraemeyorston2 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it.
@jilltagmorris3 ай бұрын
LOVE your content and narration ❤😊
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Glad your enjoying it!
@D.H.-mg2cz4 ай бұрын
I'd like you to cover Vladimir Nabokov who went from riches to rags to riches again by revolution & talent. In his novels he's the master of unreliable narrators, an author who trusts the reader's wit and ability to get through to the real events of the story. Something not all critics understood. I recommend Brian Boyd's biography.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I'm a big Nabokov fan, so he is on the list, thanks for biog suggestion.
@D.H.-mg2cz4 ай бұрын
Mine too! Here are my favourite interview quotes of him: "Why did I write any of my books, after all? For the sake of the pleasure, for the sake of the difficulty. I have no social purpose, no moral message; I've no general ideas to exploit, I just like composing riddles with elegant solutions." and "What is the best thing men do? A: To be kind, to be proud, to be fearless." (see Strong Opinions) Plus Nabokov deeply despised Freud.
@peterconnell2496Ай бұрын
"Lolita" - see any pattern :). Yes - i agree. There is an absolute gem of a Nabakov story movie on youtube if you are quick www.google.com/search?q=luzhin+defense+youtube&sca_esv=22628e78e0652884&sxsrf=ADLYWILayKmd_KTEnJ_hegKBAUyzUhmpiw%3A1727835370912&ei=6qz8ZvuyN4GMseMPuOiTqQ8&ved=0ahUKEwj7z42s0O6IAxUBRmwGHTj0JPUQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=luzhin+defense+youtube&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFmx1emhpbiBkZWZlbnNlIHlvdXR1YmUyBRAhGKABSIkuUOQLWOsicAF4AZABAJgB9AGgAacMqgEFMC41LjO4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgmgAs4NwgIHECMYsAMYJ8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg4QABiwAxjkAhjWBNgBAcICExAuGIAEGLADGEMYyAMYigXYAQHCAgoQIxiABBgnGIoFwgIFEC4YgATCAgUQABiABMICChAAGIAEGBQYhwLCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIHECEYoAEYCpgDAIgGAZAGELoGBggBEAEYCZIHBTEuNC40oAfdGw&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#
I enjoyed this documentary, both halves, early years and later, just as I've enjoyed all the others on literary figures (especially the two on Hemingway). Keep them coming, at your leisure, of course. Thanks.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you, yes I'm afraid the production line is not a fast one!
@JCPJCPJCP4 ай бұрын
@professorgraemeyorston Oh, bosh! (as you folks across the Pond say). 😃 You seem to be a very productive guy.
@BGTuyau4 ай бұрын
Another entertaining and informative addition to this wonderful series ...
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@analauraaznar15524 ай бұрын
Magnificent work as always Dr. Yorston!! "The Prince and the Paupers" is one of those magnificent works that address diverse ideas and roles with a very beautiful message: true nobility comes from within, not from social status. (Video shared!)
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@sub1maz223 күн бұрын
Video muy ilustativo, muy amena presentacion.
@professorgraemeyorston22 күн бұрын
Gracias.
@freddyfurrah37893 ай бұрын
Mark Twain is the writer I would have loved to have known.
@jbkstafford4 ай бұрын
Loved it, thank you. You make my morning commute from the Mornington Peninsula to Melbourne and absolute pleasure as well as an education.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Great to hear!
@jbkstafford4 ай бұрын
… And very nice touch using Saint-Saen’s aquarium to describe his little fish.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
It couldn't really be anything else!
@davidcarr74364 ай бұрын
I just discovered your channel, and a two part documentary about Mark Twain made for a great introduction. As you've done this one about the great American humorist, maybe you should go north of the 49th and do a study on another outstanding author, lecturer, scientist, and humorist; Stephen Leacock. He has been labeled as America's favorite humorist since Mark Twain. I'm sure you would do him justice, and your viewers would certainly find him interesting.
@thecuriousquest3 ай бұрын
Beautifully presented. Great voice!
@jkkjeldsen824925 күн бұрын
I really enjoy these Bio Docs. Very well done! I wonder if Sam missed being the center of his daughters' attention, hence the 16 year Angelfish cut-off, when girls tend to start looking elsewhere for male company. That whole family dynamic fascinates me. IIRC, Isabel the secretary wrote that she only saw Livvy Clemons twice in a year despite living in same house. No wonder he was lonely.
@professorgraemeyorston24 күн бұрын
I'm sure you're right. And at the time being in the company of young girls was probably considered more appropriate for an old man than being around young adult women.
@rmzkipАй бұрын
Thanks very much!
@professorgraemeyorstonАй бұрын
You're welcome!
@bronte3334 ай бұрын
Superbly detailed and well told. Thank you.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@loriedmundson7824 ай бұрын
Enjoyed this very much! Thank you
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@Desert_Daisy4 ай бұрын
I find your insights on the people you review fascinating. I hope you'll continue to do this for a long while. I've found myself taking note of who I'd like to revisit in more depth, so thank you very much for that. I remember reading both Tom and Huckleberry in school, but I honestly can't recall if I knew anything else about him or any other of his works.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you - I think it adds enormously to my own reading and listening pleasure to know something of the circumstances of the writers and composers lives, so I hope it helps you too.
@JosephCoppola-oo9vt3 ай бұрын
This Story about Mark Twain is wondaful, I subscribed to your Analisis of oh Twain.
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it.
@MBRMrblueroads4 ай бұрын
Old age is tough. Awesome production 👍👍 #478
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thanks for the visit
@donscottvansandt41393 ай бұрын
Awesome bio of a Awesome man...
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thank you, he sure was!
@phyllislovelace81514 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for this, very interesting. Not reallybeen drawn to his writing but sad to hear he suffered so much loss during his lifetime. That would be hard for any person to deal with.
@OrcHunter-yb4ie4 ай бұрын
Thank you for this! I was waiting for this one.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Hope you enjoyed it!
@OrcHunter-yb4ie4 ай бұрын
@@professorgraemeyorston Certainly. Very nice treatment of the subject.
@MsGaella3 ай бұрын
Superb! Thank you.
@christopherviggiano93674 ай бұрын
Great video. Didn’t know much about mark twain. Ben Franklin, Orson Welles, and Theodore Roosevelt would be great videos
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thanks I'll add them to the list.
@MSK-jd5fi4 ай бұрын
I enjoyed this very much. Twain’s life was so rich and he was so complicated. You gave us a good look into what drove him. If anyone has a chance, I strongly recommend a visit to the Mark Twain house in Hartford. It’s a sizable house, but not grand like the Gilded Age mansions. It’s a family home, where the children grew up and where Twain smoked his cigars and played billiards. His love or the new technologies of the time is shown there.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I'd love to visit.
@AHLUser3 ай бұрын
I had no idea what trauma and loss he endured... My goodness, his life is like a tragedy while his books are like a comedy. So Sad and So Funny at the same time... I'm happy that my parents never had to experience the loss of any children, and grateful that I will never have that burden either. My mother, Bless Her, once took me to the historic Ford's Theater in Washington DC, to see Hal Holbrook perform a 1 man show portraying Twain on stage in 1978-ish. I was in High School and enjoyed that 'Introduction to Twain' very much. Holbrook made it into a movie, and I highly recommend watching it, even if you are not a fan of Samuel Clemmons (Twain) it is enjoyable. Many of his 'Political Jokes' of that time are still true today..!!
@richardcohen80724 ай бұрын
Superb ! Brilliant !
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@gregcugola7794 ай бұрын
A man who was truly free range, In a time when passports didn't exist, and you could go where you pleased. He even stoked the boilers in the basement of the Menzies Hotel Melbourne for exercise on his world speaking tour. His Autobiography superb. Could orate for hours without a script. Connecting with his audience that very few can do today. A true Vaudevillian. We are by comparison mere battery hens. Mark Twain. Two Fathoms, Twelve Feet. Samuel Clemens.
@whiskeymonk40854 ай бұрын
If only Twain could write about the people who attempt to diagnose him in the modern day. Letters from the Earth volume 2 would have been a great read.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
I'm sure he would have come up with some witty but apposite remarks about psychiatry!
@msmith533 ай бұрын
Yes!
@barbaraanneneale36744 ай бұрын
A very good video. You provide an admirably bareline's perspective. On this. Difficult subject.
@diegogonzales96533 ай бұрын
I’d love to see a video of Jackson Pollock!
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thanks, Pollock is on the list!
@dvd534 ай бұрын
Wonderful program! I enjoyed every minute. One small pronunciation correction: it is Elmira, NY with a long i, to rhyme with 'well, Myra.'
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Apologies, I did wonder about that, I should have checked!
@macandrewes4 ай бұрын
This was wonderful! Thanks so much I really enjoy your work. Would you consider doing a piece of Whitman or Thoreau?
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you, they're both on the to do list!
@JanetCluney-sx4tc3 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing information I've not heard before. Ive read much about Twain. He's one of my favorite authors.@@professorgraemeyorston
@YuChiGongG4 ай бұрын
Nice one.....as usual. Your work is good.
@SADFORIAN4 ай бұрын
Really solid, thanks.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@StuffMadeOnDreams2 ай бұрын
These two videos on Mark Twain from Prof. Yorston reinforces in me the idea I have always had, namely that Mark Twain is one of finest Americans of all time, alongside with Lincoln, Harriet Tubman and Frederic Douglass. "He collected surrogate grand-daughters..." for afternoon tea and for a few tender hugs... what a hideous crime!. I think that Prof. Yorston gives already the answer to this extraordinary behaviour by citing the explanation of Twain in that he saw in them innocent human beings after all his adventures and misadventures in life. He clearly was an old man enjoying the company of children, which is not unusual. My old grand-father used to say towards the end of his life that he preferred to be around children than around people of his age, as these were talking of pain and death all the time. Very possibly was Mark Twain fond of his happy childhood and wanted to grasp it again. Very possibly as well, because of his prudish Presbyterian education, he wanted to be around girls in old age, as he had not had the courage to be around them in his youngest years. If you compare that with the morals of a certain candidate for the presidency these days, after all his court condemnations, including two of sexual nature against women plus another one about fraud on grand scale against banks and insurers, I propose to declare Mark Twain a saint of America. An aspect that Prof. Yorston does not mention here is the modernity of Mark Twain. No doubt he was a man of his time, but he was as well a man that could see through the veil of culture and pass sound judgement over good and bad. For this reason, he deserves a place in History as one of those thinkers that transcend time and place and are timeless. Perhaps his lack of academic learning allowed him to do so. It is not unusual that great thinkers and inventors have not been academics at all, but self-taught. Self-teaching is perhaps the best teacher for invention and the best antidote against your own era and against the burdensome tradition of your own culture.
@professorgraemeyorston2 ай бұрын
Thank you, I agree that he was ahead of his time and that his lack of formal education was an advantage in being open to new ideas. He rated his travels as his best education.
@susanbryars91704 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
You're welcome!
@sw40284 ай бұрын
Yet another first rate historical episode! May I suggest you unravel my favorite fictional fantasy character, Gollum's psyche?
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Great suggestion.
@ethelperry45294 ай бұрын
Wonderful! Thank You 🤗
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it.
@Newfoundmike3 ай бұрын
Great run down research and Narration
@professorgraemeyorston3 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@kenkrausse36243 ай бұрын
Excellent
@terrydillon93234 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@CSchaeken4 ай бұрын
Very, very excellent video, thanks! I would love you to look at polish dystopian painter Beksinsky.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thanks, I'll look into him.
@oliversmith92004 ай бұрын
Excellent.
@professorgraemeyorston4 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@BonnieDoolan4 ай бұрын
Great! One small thing however, the city is pronounced El-my-rah . Thanks so much for your video.