This broad-ranging companion brings together respected American and European critics and a number of up-and-coming scholars to provide an overview of Twain, his background, his writings, and his place in American literary history.

• One of the most broad-ranging volumes to appear on Mark Twain in recent years
• Brings together respected Twain critics and a number of younger scholars in the field to provide an overview of this central figure in American literature
• Places special emphasis on the ways in which Twain's works remain both relevant and important for a twenty-first century audience
• A concluding essay evaluates the changing landscape of Twain criticism

Peter Messent is Professor of Modern American Literature at Nottingham University. He is the author of The Short Works of Mark Twain: A Critical Study (2001), Mark Twain (1997), Ernest Hemingway (1992), and New Readings of the American Novel: Narrative Theory and its Application (1990), and editor of Criminal Proceedings: The Contemporary American Crime Novel (1997).

Louis J. Budd is James B. Duke Professor (Emeritus) of American Literature at Duke University, where he taught American Literature from 1981 to 1991. He is the author of Mark Twain: Social Philosopher (reissued 2001) and Our Mark Twain: The Making of his Public Personality (1983) and the editor of Mark Twain: The Contemporary Reviews (1999). He served as founding president of the Mark Twain Circle of America.