DeVoto calls his work an essay in the correction of ideas. After the official biography of Mark Twain had been written by Albert Paine, DeVoto believed there was still more to be said about the works of the great American writer and humorist. He dedicates himself here to a study of the works of Twain, not the man or his life, but to how and why these works arose from American life.

DeVoto calls his work an essay in the correction of ideas. After the official biography of Mark Twain had been written by Albert Paine, DeVoto believed there was still more to be said about the works of the great American writer and humorist. He dedicates himself here to a study of the works of Twain, not the man or his life, but to how and why these works arose from American life.