Praise for the previous edition: RASD/ALA "Outstanding Reference Source, 1996" "'Essential' is the word for it! Libraries of all types will want this authoritative and attractive source."--American Libraries "A fascinating and unique volume."--Library Journal "This is truly a wonderful compendium of information on one of the greats in American literature."--School Library Journal The creator of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain has long been regarded as the quintessential American writer. Critical Companion to Mark Twain, an updated and expanded edition of the award-winning Mark Twain A to Z, is the essential reference to Mark Twain's life and writings. All new to this two-volume edition are more than 30 extensive critical analyses on Mark Twain's most important works and a concise biography of Mark Twain. In addition, there are more than 350 completely new entries, several new appendixes and maps, and more than 100 new illustrations. Original entries have been updated and expanded to incorporate more details and to account for new developments in the field of Mark Twain studies.

With more than 150,000 words of new material and a new, student-friendly structure, Critical Companion to Mark Twain is the essential reference for students, librarians, scholars, and fans of Mark Twain. Coverage includes: *A concise but comprehensive biography of Mark Twain *Detailed synopses of, and critical commentaries on, all of Mark Twain's major works *Discussions of all the characters and places in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and major characters and fictional places in other works *Entries on family, friends, contemporaries, places, publishers, topics, and more *Appendixes, including a glossary of terms used by Mark Twain, a chronology, a bibliography, and much more.