Mark Twain among the Indians and Other Indigenous Peoples

“This is the definitive account of Twain’s views about American Indians and other indigenous peoples from his earliest writings to his final ones. Thoroughly researched and presented in full detail, it shows how Twain’s early bigotry persisted but finally eased and shifted into a more humane and sensible understanding in his last years.”—Carter Revard, author of An Eagle Nation and Family Matters, Tribal Affairs

“A brilliant and comprehensive assessment of Twain’s contradictory feelings toward indigenous peoples. Kerry Driscoll takes us from family histories and world tours to reform movements and skit nights, weaving together astute new readings of classic texts and obscure essays. Beautifully written and analytically sharp, this book makes a significant contribution to both literary and Native American studies.”—Philip J. Deloria, Harvard University

“Driscoll’s groundbreaking book is the most comprehensive engagement we have with Native Americans as a theme in Mark Twain’s writing and as a presence in Samuel Clemens’s life. This is a definitive history, evaluated with clarity, vigor, and poise.”—Bruce Michelson, author of Printer’s Devil: Mark Twain and the American Publishing Revolution

“The works of Mark Twain offer a great means of access to the complexities of American culture as the nation took possession of the continent and evolved toward its status as a superpower. In this analysis of Twain’s life and work, Driscoll has written the definitive study of the place of the Native American and other aboriginal peoples in the nation’s and Western world’s real and imagined communities. Her stance as a scholar and writer is very impressive: learned, generous, passionate without ever becoming polemical, and balanced without ever forgetting the real moral stakes involved.”—Stephen Railton, University of Virginia