Mark Twain
Preacher, Prophet, and Social Philosopher
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:22nd Jul '21
Should be back in stock very soon
Mark Twain's literary works have intrigued and inspired readers from the late 1860s to the present. His varied experiences as a journeyman printer, river boat pilot, prospector, journalist, novelist, humorist, businessman, and world traveller, combined with his incredible imagination and astonishing creativity, enabled him to devise some of American literature's most memorable characters and engaging stories. Twain had a complicated relationship with Christianity. He strove to understand, critique, and sometimes promote various theological ideas and insights. His religious perspective was often inconsistent and even contradictory. While many scholars have overlooked Twain's strong interest in religious matters, others disagree sharply about his religious views--with many labelling him a secularist, an agnostic, or an atheist. In this compelling biography, Gary Scott Smith shows that throughout his life Twain was an entertainer, satirist, novelist, and reformer, but also functioned as a preacher, prophet, and social philosopher. Twain tackled universal themes with penetrating insight and wit including the character of God, human nature, sin, providence, corruption, greed, hypocrisy, poverty, racism, and imperialism. Moreover, his life provides a window into the principal trends and developments in American religion from 1865 to 1910.
In his masterful analysis of Twain's life and thought, Smith examines Twain's changing theological views as well his attitudes toward the moral corruption and indifference of his day. More broadly, Smith's insightful study offers a window into the nature and role of Protestantism in Gilded Age American culture and its complex relationship with economic exploitation, imperialism, political greed, poverty, and racism...Crisply written and richly documented, Smith's engaging biography makes an outstanding contribution to American religious history. * Paul Kemeny, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *
This book possesses two conspicuous strengths. First, it amply demonstrates the Jekyll and Hyde quality of Twain's approach to orthodox Christianity, Secondly, this book vividly displays the trifold social function of Twain's speaking and writings...Smith convinces the reader that Twain was indeed a social philosopher thinking and writing about the most pressing problems of his era. * Matthew Turnbull, Mark Twain Journal *
The book is an exciting revision of Twain as a thinker about religion, if not a religious thinker. This book is a solid guide to Twain's lifelong struggle with religious ideas. * J. W. Miller, Gonzaga University, Choice Connect *
Smith's Mark Twain is well researched and written, and offers insightful analysis of Twain's views of religion throughout his personal life and illustrious career. Smith's book is rich with anecdotes about, and statements by, Mark Twain that often amuse, impress, and, at times, astonish. It is recommended for university, college, and public libraries. * Christopher Buck, Reading Religion *
ISBN: 9780192894922
Dimensions: 202mm x 135mm x 21mm
Weight: 408g
272 pages