Hey Paul, thanks for the detailed comment. Super jealous that you're in the US and can go visit these spots. That would definitely be a fun way to travel for me. I must admit I've only read his most notable ones but certainly am going to get his others especially after your recommendation. I feel I actually don't know him as well as say George Orwell but would want to read all of his works before reading a biography (he has an autobiography as well doesn't he?). He certainly seems like a perceptive guy but hope that his rejection of spirituality didn't make him cynical. Much research on my part to do, more to come about Mark Twain in the future 😁

@@MereMortalsBookReviews I live about 1 hour from his childhood home of Hannibal, MO. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are the only real story draws for the tourist trade in Hannibal. I would say that most locals have read little Twain and only have cursory knowledge of his childhood home and "Becky Thatcher's" home. These structures are still there in old downtown, about 3 blocks from the famed Mighty Mississippi. Mark Twain was born in Florida, MO. The state park system moved and preserved his birthplace cabin. I visited it once. Few folk around here seem to be aware that he used a pen name and they don't know who Samuel Clemens is. When we moved here I was excited to visit our small town public library, assuming living so close to Hannibal ensured a large store of library titles. I think that they had four Mark Twain titles in the library. That was in 1987 before independent libraries participated in book sharing programs. I raised 9 children and never convinced any of them to be loyal Twain readers. A daughter-in-law embraced Twain. She became an avid enough fan that she and I would roll into Twain humor laughter by quoting only a few words. For a long season she gifted me Twain themed gifts for all important occasions. She is quite a knitter, and I received several knitted Twain themed gifts. These include a buckshot weighted jumping frog of Calaveras County, a forked carrot from Clarence's arrival in A Connecticut Yankee in King Author's Court, and a conscience from the Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime. The playground that we built for our grandchildren sports a KEEP OFF THE GRASS sign from Excerpts From the Diary of Adam. That was a follow-up joke to the photo that I took of us standing in the grass next to the Keep Off the Grass sign while visiting Niagara Falls. I have 36 grandchildren. Only a few of them are avid readers and so far I haven't any that embrace Twain like I do.

If you do travel to Missouri, my wife and I will let you bunk at our spacious home, and I will take you Hannibal.

Very gracious of you mate 🥰. I am coming to the US from Australia next year but it's looking like a short trip there at this stage