Mark Twain (1835-1910) was born in Florida, Missouri, and died in Redding, Connecticut. He was a writer, humorist, satirist, and essayist, writing both fiction and non-fiction, and has been described as "the father of American literature". His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel". Some of Twain's early jobs include work as a printer and typesetter, a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, a miner in Nevada, and as a journalist. His first success as a writer came when his humorous tall tale "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published in 1865 in the New York weekly The Saturday Press, bringing him national attention. He married Olivia L. Clemens (b. Langdon) in Elmira, New York, in 1870. The Clemenses lived in Buffalo, New York, until 1871 and soon moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where Twain wrote many of his classic novels during his 17 years there. Twain lost his fortune in the early 1890s due to bad investments and declared bankruptcy in 1894. As his fame grew he became a sought-after speaker, and he was able to repay his debt in 1898 after years of lecturing. He served as vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League from 1901 until his death in 1910.
Twain's views on Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy were ambivalent. He read Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures numerous times, noting that because it was so well written it could not have been authored by her. He first wrote about Christian Science in the October 1899 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. A 1902-1903 series of articles written by Twain in the North American Review criticized Christian Science and Eddy, including the use of the honorific "Mother" many Christian Scientists used when referring to her. These articles were republished by Twain as a book, Christian Science: With Notes Containing Corrections to Date, in 1907. Twain thought all healing philosophies had some validity to them, but that some were better at healing certain ailments than others. He didn't reject that Christian Science could heal; in fact, he believed that it could in some situations, although at times he was very candid about his disbelief in its efficacy. Twain didn't seem to care for Eddy herself, and his view of her was often antagonistic. He was concerned with her mixture of religion and business, noting that Eddy had become very wealthy, which clashed with his political beliefs as a supporter of the Progressive Movement. He believed that the truth of Christian Science should be free and available to all individuals and shouldn't be sold as a service, thereby making his issue with the movement more about how Eddy ran her church rather than the religion's claims of healing. In spite of this, Twain admired Eddy and is also credited with saying some positive things about her, including that, "In several ways she is the most interesting woman that ever lived, and the most extraordinary." Twain's daughter, Clara Clemens, became a follower of Christian Science later in life and published Awake to a Perfect Day: My Experience with Christian Science in 1956.
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Mark Twain (1835-1910) was born in Florida, Missouri, and died in Redding, Connecticut. He was a writer, humorist, satirist, and essayist, writing both fiction and non-fiction, and has been described as "the father of American literature". His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel". Some of Twain's early jobs include work as a printer and typesetter, a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, a miner in Nevada, and as a journalist. His first success as a writer came when his humorous tall tale "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published in 1865 in the New York weekly The Saturday Press, bringing him national attention. He married Olivia L. Clemens (b. Langdon) in Elmira, New York, in 1870. The Clemenses lived in Buffalo, New York, until 1871 and soon moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where Twain wrote many of his classic novels during his 17 years there. Twain lost his fortune in the early 1890s due to bad investments and declared bankruptcy in 1894. As his fame grew he became a sought-after speaker, and he was able to repay his debt in 1898 after years of lecturing. He served as vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League from 1901 until his death in 1910.
Twain's views on Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy were ambivalent. He read Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures numerous times, noting that because it was so well written it could not have been authored by her. He first wrote about Christian Science in the October 1899 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. A 1902-1903 series of articles written by Twain in the North American Review criticized Christian Science and Eddy, including the use of the honorific "Mother" many Christian Scientists used when referring to her. These articles were republished by Twain as a book, Christian Science: With Notes Containing Corrections to Date, in 1907. Twain thought all healing philosophies had some validity to them, but that some were better at healing certain ailments than others. He didn't reject that Christian Science could heal; in fact, he believed that it could in some situations, although at times he was very candid about his disbelief in its efficacy. Twain didn't seem to care for Eddy herself, and his view of her was often antagonistic. He was concerned with her mixture of religion and business, noting that Eddy had become very wealthy, which clashed with his political beliefs as a supporter of the Progressive Movement. He believed that the truth of Christian Science should be free and available to all individuals and shouldn't be sold as a service, thereby making his issue with the movement more about how Eddy ran her church rather than the religion's claims of healing. In spite of this, Twain admired Eddy and is also credited with saying some positive things about her, including that, "In several ways she is the most interesting woman that ever lived, and the most extraordinary." Twain's daughter, Clara Clemens, became a follower of Christian Science later in life and published Awake to a Perfect Day: My Experience with Christian Science in 1956.
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