"Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences," the best-known and best-loved essay in this collection, is Mark Twain's how-to guide for the would-be author...
read full description
reviews
Oct 07, 2011
Steve
rated it: 
This little book from the Gutenberg Project has several fairly short, essays within an essay about how to properly tell a humorous story.
Mark Twain (AKA Samuel Clemens) became a popular writer with good reason. He writes well, handles dialects in a manner that is accurate and maintains the dignity of his characters.
There seem to be various editions of essays by Twain, all having the same title, the Gutenberg edition and the Oxford Edition are quite similar, approaching identity, with More...
Mark Twain (AKA Samuel Clemens) became a popular writer with good reason. He writes well, handles dialects in a manner that is accurate and maintains the dignity of his characters.
There seem to be various editions of essays by Twain, all having the same title, the Gutenberg edition and the Oxford Edition are quite similar, approaching identity, with More...
Jan 30, 2011
wally
rated it: 
short happy piece about writing, telling a story, and twain tells a few to finish it off. i enjoyed the expressions he used on the train. that was a hoot. short sweet and to the point.
thought of something...there's a few...sketches, that twain provides, to do w/...for lack of a better word, supernatural. i assume these are true...heh!....stories, as they have a ring of truth to them, those tings that happen, things that give you pause.
say, like he...whew...brai More...
thought of something...there's a few...sketches, that twain provides, to do w/...for lack of a better word, supernatural. i assume these are true...heh!....stories, as they have a ring of truth to them, those tings that happen, things that give you pause.
say, like he...whew...brai More...
Feb 05, 2012
Jay
rated it: 
Rather abrupt changes with little to no flow between them, although the anecdotes themselves are fine. It wasn't quite what I was expecting; I had assumed the "other essays" mentioned were essays about writing, when in reality they were just whatever Twain had thought of at the moment, including his views on ESP.
This makes sense, however: at the time this was published, Twain was going completely bankrupt. He was churning out piece after piece to make ends meet, these essays amon More...
This makes sense, however: at the time this was published, Twain was going completely bankrupt. He was churning out piece after piece to make ends meet, these essays amon More...
May 05, 2011
Julie
rated it:
What's not to love about a collection of essays by Mark Twain? In classic form, he delivers opinions and stories with wit.
In the essay for which the book is named, "How to Tell A Story", Twain writes, "The humorous story is American, the comic story is English, the witty story is French. The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter."
He certainly had the manner honed
In the essay for which the book is named, "How to Tell A Story", Twain writes, "The humorous story is American, the comic story is English, the witty story is French. The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter."
He certainly had the manner honed
Jan 17, 2012
August
rated it:
Eh. Usually Twain appeals to me, especially in short, quotable form, but this wasn't particularly enlightening or interesting. I suppose there was humor to be found in it, but it wasn't really worth the 20 minutes it took to read. Alas!
Then again, I think I had a very short version. Perhaps that was the problem.
Then again, I think I had a very short version. Perhaps that was the problem.
Mar 18, 2011
Lindsay
rated it:
It's always interesting to look at older writings and see how well they've stood the test of time, and this has definitely done that. Some advised on telling stories, always pertinent, and some examples as well. An entertaining and informative read.
Jun 03, 2011
Karishma
rated it:
This may have been better if I had read it as a book. Something about the formatting of the Kindle edition makes it so that all the essays run together, and you want them to make sense as a whole, which they don't do.
Dec 03, 2011
Eric
rated it:
There's a short story at the end of this compilation that had me laughing out loud. Twain is golden, all the time.
Apr 04, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
I have the original 1897 edition.
The essay about Fenimore Cooper is a classic.
The essay about Fenimore Cooper is a classic.
Feb 16, 2011
Clay
rated it:
It was a collection of essays. It amazes me how his ideas still hold true in our modern day.
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 09, 2012
Feb 05, 2012
Feb 03, 2012
Jan 30, 2012
Jan 30, 2012
Jan 29, 2012
Jan 24, 2012
Jan 23, 2012
