The Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain's Lecture Tours.

by Frederick William Lorch

On the often-neglected lecture tours through which this "Wild Humorist of the Pacific Coast" became both wealthy and famous, as well as the urbane, polished man of letters and humorist known as "Mark Twain"

Genres: Nonfiction

375 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 1968

Reviews

[Maggie Wrobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful juvie bio.A very desultory career. Like Dickens, he had a father who was a debtor. He seemed to have a lot of get rich quick schemes that either backfired or never materialized, not unlike his father. Children will probably enjoy reading about his days learning to pilot a steamboat on the Mississippi. His career as a speaker is fascinating too. He was one of the first people to appear as a paid speaker. He came up with the banner on his fliers- The Trouble Begins at 8. Which seemed to be an effective was to draw in a big crowd. (ages 11-15)

[Natalie Hendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Mark Twain was born fully grown, with a cheap cigar clamped between his teeth”. This quote exemplifies what the author tries to tell about Mark Twain’s life as an interesting man who started in a Missouri village. This nonfiction explains the life of Mark Twain in a new and interesting way and how he moved from being Samuel Clemens to the man and author we know today as Mark Twain. The novel does not strictly give facts about Mark Twain, but explains his life as an adventure. With chapter titles like “The Man who Made Frogs Famous” and “The Gingerbread Kid” this nonfictions takes an interesting turn on the typical biography. This nonfiction I would recommend for high school students. I would want them to write their own biography on a certain human using details from other biographies they have read from the library. It was a fun and interesting book!

[Caren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything about Mark Twain, and I hope to get kids interested in him again. They don't know what they are missing!