At the heart of this collection of seven stories is the masterful tale “The Private History of a Campaign That Failed.” Part autobiographical account of Twain’s adventures in the Civil War and part fiction, the story is by turns brimming with satire and a sober indictment of the cruel realities of war. Also included are “A Curious Experience, ” the account of a boy whose fantasy world collides with the real world during war time, and “The Invalid’s Story, ” the tale of a man escorting what he believes to be the casket of a beloved friend but for a calamitous mix-up.
Circa l’autore
Mark Twain (1835-1910), born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is said to be America’s greatest humorist. William Faulkner called him the father of American literature. Ernest Hemmingway added, “all modern American literature stems from one book by Mark Twain.” He was referring to
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.