Mark Twain - The Later Years | Biographical Documentary

[@nancystevens7447]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Fantastic, what a connection!

[@chuckrockel4903]

In Sonora?

[@baylorsailor]

I thought Becky Thatcher was based on the girl in the house to the left of his boyhood home.

[@lilykatmoon4508]

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!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

All those losses made him resilient and yes, somehow, he remained open and interested in the world, a truly great man.

[@Marktheshark-e7f]

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. 😊

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It's nice to hear that someone is still reading books.

[@elizabethannegrey6285]

Excellent move👏

[@Marktheshark-e7f]

@@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

[@janegardener1662]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

More than his fair share!

[@HarvinGwin-kr1ry]

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court! 2:46

[@professormustafizurrahman1939]

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊​@@professorgraemeyorston

[@professormustafizurrahman1939]

​@@professorgraemeyorston😅😅😊😊😊😊😅😅😊😊😅😅😅😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@Semprini537]

He worked his ass off.

[@bobtaylor170]

Oh, yes: another fine episode. Please don't stop making these.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@petehaynes5882]

@@professorgraemeyorston are u interested in doing a study of Raymond Chandler?

[@nataliewilliams9741]

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 ❣️

[@StanGraham1]

Mine as well.

[@fj2152]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Very true.

[@gerardmazzarese9363]

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.

[@peterconnell2496]

Agree, but its nasty and harmful to callously dump them when they mature.

[@carolinegray7510]

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 .

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you. I like your summation of the journey through life.

[@TuckerSP2011]

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!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you - I think you've summed him up pretty well yourself!

[@liasisboa]

This Twain program was your best.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@nippynf4l831]

Well done as always!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks again!

[@marquiesriley6479]

The quote at the end about life and age is so true yet so sobering….

[@professorgraemeyorston]

His aphorisms are all so clever and witty, yet very profound.

[@liberty-matrix]

“The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly, teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” ~ Mark Twain

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Good one.

[@brendadrew834]

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~💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I think you're right, he was lonely.

[@JenSell1626]

I am deeply sorry for your very long loss.

[@brendadrew834]

@@JenSell1626 Thank you, much appreciated~

[@mellissadalby1402]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, I always like hear that viewers have found something new.

[@bretfisher7286]

Ah, here it is, Professor! Thanks. I've been looking forward to it.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad to oblige!

[@shirleyandrews1152]

What an amazing man & what a sad sad life. I think his little angels were a substitute for his daughters lost. ❤️

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I agree.

[@calendarpage]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Welcome aboard - glad you're enjoying them.

[@voyaristika5673]

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!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

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.

[@m.h.cs.2689]

Beautiful, insightful presentation, beautiful voice. Perfect.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@judithlungen6958]

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

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@nonosays]

Love your calm, measured, magnanimous approach. Thanks for this very insightful narrative of a complex and wonderful man.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@TheLolapuff]

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!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you I'll check them out.

[@channel-your-flannel]

Watching your subscriber count grow fills me with glee. You are amazing!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you! It is getting close to that 100k mark!

[@channel-your-flannel]

@@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

[@elliepascoe5954]

That is a marvellous idea🎉

[@mons3020]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I agree, it is a great book.

[@francus7227]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, I couldn't agree more about travel. I think my visits to 95 different countries have been my greatest education.

[@francus7227]

@@professorgraemeyorston I'm at about 25....

[@ruatarengsicolneyrengsi8924]

I really enjoyed listening to your presentation. I think it'superb. Thank for putting it up.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Hazmatt4700]

Outstanding episode. Thank you for the diligent work.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@freefall146]

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!

[@bonzomcduffy8336]

YOU'RE AMAZING DONT EVER STOP. PLEASE.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'll try not to!

[@michaelscanlon9747]

EXCELLENT! Highly recommended.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@KimGrey-n9q]

I have just submersed myself in your Mark Twain broadcast. I enjoy your work . Please keep it up.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you. There are more on the way!

[@carlashibayama1614]

Thank you for this lovely documentary..I had no idea about his life..your beautiful speaking voice..it was beautiful 🙏 😊

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@GamelanSinarSurya]

You have created my favorite history channel on KZbin. Great scholarship, fascinating photos, interesting background music and wonderful narration. Much appreciated!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you like them!

[@pathfinderstravelmagazine2903]

Thoroughly enjoyed your storytelling. I listened while enduring a bout of insomnia, lying in the darkness with earphones, as if enjoying an old radio broadcast.

[@ashtonwinter1616]

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 🙏🏻

[@professorgraemeyorston]

High praise indeed, thank you.

[@InglouriousBradsterd]

I am so glad I subscribed to your channel. You do a fantastic job. Bravo, young man.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, welcome aboard.

[@BabaDontKnow]

Another excellent documentary. Thank you Professor.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@TheClisal]

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. 💙

[@kambrose1549]

What a dynamo he was. Despite all the setbacks he managed to find some way forward.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I agree, he didn't always get things right, but he never stopped trying.

[@CKology]

My idol! Mark Twain! What an amazing story telling skill you have prof! Thanks for this video a mill!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jilltagmorris]

LOVE your content and narration ❤😊

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad your enjoying it!

[@robinhendrix66]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@doreengowans4261]

Thank you. A thoroughly enjoyable time spent watching and listening to your presentation on Mark Twain.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@ThisHandleIsNotTaken_Yet]

Thank You! I enjoyed your video. I love your content

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Sunshinekty46]

I just enjoy your presentations so much 😊 keep up the good work 😊

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@CarolineColebesinger]

This was so conpleaty enjoyable! Thank you, good Doctor❤

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you for watching.

[@analauraaznar1552]

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!)

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@zemabar]

Enjoyed much this one too. I was surprised by Twain's claim that he had not written The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for children. I read it when I was 12 and it remained my favorite book until adulthood.

[@ge0rgeharris218]

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!

[@anthonyelwick3600]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I think he was just lonely.

[@wookiewoo1]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

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.

[@donscottvansandt4139]

Awesome bio of a Awesome man...

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, he sure was!

[@D.H.-mg2cz]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'm a big Nabokov fan, so he is on the list, thanks for biog suggestion.

[@D.H.-mg2cz]

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.

[@peterconnell2496]

"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#

[@peterconnell2496]

@@professorgraemeyorston wonderfulmovie: 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#

[@ChubbyUnicorn]

Your dry humor is much appreciated!

[@jbkstafford]

Loved it, thank you. You make my morning commute from the Mornington Peninsula to Melbourne and absolute pleasure as well as an education.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Great to hear!

[@BGTuyau]

Another entertaining and informative addition to this wonderful series ...

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@thecuriousquest]

Beautifully presented. Great voice!

[@jbkstafford]

… And very nice touch using Saint-Saen’s aquarium to describe his little fish.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It couldn't really be anything else!

[@bronte333]

Superbly detailed and well told. Thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@rmzkip]

Thanks very much!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

You're welcome!

[@genekelly8467]

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.

[@paulscottfilms]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@loriedmundson782]

Enjoyed this very much! Thank you

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tomklock568]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@diegogonzales9653]

I’d love to see a video of Jackson Pollock!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks, Pollock is on the list!

[@chadpenner5059]

Thank you doc for your fascinating well researched episodes...such a treat for me and others to look forward to....😊😅

[@richardcohen8072]

Superb ! Brilliant !

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@OrcHunter-yb4ie]

Thank you for this! I was waiting for this one.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@OrcHunter-yb4ie]

@@professorgraemeyorston Certainly. Very nice treatment of the subject.

[@JCPJCPJCP]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, yes I'm afraid the production line is not a fast one!

[@JCPJCPJCP]

​@professorgraemeyorston Oh, bosh! (as you folks across the Pond say). 😃 You seem to be a very productive guy.

[@JosephCoppola-oo9vt]

This Story about Mark Twain is wondaful, I subscribed to your Analisis of oh Twain.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@bobtaylor170]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It is hard to know what he really thought about anything, as he was so often writing to get a reaction.

[@bobtaylor170]

@@professorgraemeyorston I think that's true. A born provocateur.

[@christinepaige2575]

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!

[@JimmyJamesJimbo]

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.

[@msmith53]

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!

[@MsGaella]

Superb! Thank you.

[@MBRMrblueroads]

Old age is tough. Awesome production 👍👍 #478

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks for the visit

[@carlashibayama1614]

Thank you for this lovely documentary..I had no idea about his life..your beautiful speaking voice..it was beautiful Thankyou🙏🙇

[@davidcarr7436]

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.

[@stefanstern3542]

Thank you very much, I really enjoyed it! - If you haven't heard from me lately, it's because I'm binge-watching all your biographical videos...

[@sub1maz2]

Video muy ilustativo, muy amena presentacion.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Gracias.

[@Desert_Daisy]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

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.

[@jkkjeldsen8249]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

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.

[@YuChiGongG]

Nice one.....as usual. Your work is good.

[@christopherviggiano9367]

Great video. Didn’t know much about mark twain. Ben Franklin, Orson Welles, and Theodore Roosevelt would be great videos

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks I'll add them to the list.

[@SADFORIAN]

Really solid, thanks.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@freddyfurrah3789]

Mark Twain is the writer I would have loved to have known.

[@prajnaseek]

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

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you - I agree that people forming conclusions without having all the facts is a big problem in society today.

[@macandrewes]

This was wonderful! Thanks so much I really enjoy your work. Would you consider doing a piece of Whitman or Thoreau?

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, they're both on the to do list!

[@JanetCluney-sx4tc]

Thank you for sharing information I've not heard before. Ive read much about Twain. He's one of my favorite authors.​@@professorgraemeyorston

[@susanbryars9170]

Thank you!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

You're welcome!

[@jeffsiegwart]

Well done 😊

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you 😁

[@dvd53]

Wonderful program! I enjoyed every minute. One small pronunciation correction: it is Elmira, NY with a long i, to rhyme with 'well, Myra.'

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Apologies, I did wonder about that, I should have checked!

[@ethelperry4529]

Wonderful! Thank You 🤗

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@phyllislovelace8151]

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.

[@Newfoundmike]

Great run down research and Narration

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@sw4028]

Yet another first rate historical episode! May I suggest you unravel my favorite fictional fantasy character, Gollum's psyche?

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Great suggestion.

[@barbaraanneneale3674]

A very good video. You provide an admirably bareline's perspective. On this. Difficult subject.

[@MSK-jd5fi]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'd love to visit.

[@carolinesixel6445]

Very interesting!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@oliversmith9200]

Excellent.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@CSchaeken]

Very, very excellent video, thanks! I would love you to look at polish dystopian painter Beksinsky.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks, I'll look into him.

[@whiskeymonk4085]

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.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'm sure he would have come up with some witty but apposite remarks about psychiatry!

[@msmith53]

Yes!