"Many persons have such a horror of being taken in," wrote P. T. Barnum, "that they believe themselves to be a sham and are continually humbugging themselves." Mark Twain enjoyed trading on that horror, as the many confidence men, assumed identities, and disguised characters in his fiction attest. In Dark Twins, Susan Gillman challenges the widely held assumption that Twain's concern with identity is purely biographical and argues that what has been regarded as a problem of individual psychology must be located instead ...
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"Many persons have such a horror of being taken in," wrote P. T. Barnum, "that they believe themselves to be a sham and are continually humbugging themselves." Mark Twain enjoyed trading on that horror, as the many confidence men, assumed identities, and disguised characters in his fiction attest. In Dark Twins, Susan Gillman challenges the widely held assumption that Twain's concern with identity is purely biographical and argues that what has been regarded as a problem of individual psychology must be located instead within American society around the turn of the century. Drawing on Twain's whole writing career, but focusing on the controversial late period of social "pessimism" and literary "incoherence," Gillman situates Twain and his work in historical context, demonstrating the complex interplay between his most intimate personal and authorial identity and the public attitudes toward race, gender, and science. Gillman shows that laws regulating race classification, paternity, and rape cases underwrite Twain's critical exploration of racial and sexual difference in the writings of the 1890s and after, most strikingly in the little-known manuscripts that Gillman calls the "tales of transvestism." The "pseudoscience" of spiritualism and the "science" of psychology provide the cultural vocabularies essential to Twain's fantasy and science fiction writings of his last two decades. Twain stands forth finally as a representative man, not only a child of his culture, but also as one implicated in a continuing American anxiety about freedom, race, and identity.
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Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $19.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $19.50, fair condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
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Fair. Acceptable-This is a significantly damaged book. It should be considered a reading copy only. Please order this book only if you are interested in the content and not the condition. May be ex-library. PAPERBACK Standard-sized.
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $20.34, new condition, Sold by Opa! Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Carson City, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
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New. New Inside and Outside. Clean and crisp pages w/no markings! You will be pleased. Excellent book! ( z1s210C ) Some very minor shelf wear on dust cover. ** Fast Shipping**
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $20.34, new condition, Sold by Cronus Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Carson City, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
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Seller's Description:
New. New Inside and Outside. Clean and crisp pages w/no markings! You will be pleased. Excellent book! ( z1s210C ) Some very minor shelf wear on dust cover. ** Fast Shipping**
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $22.50, like new condition, Sold by Sequitur Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Boonsboro, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $42.21, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $46.79, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Dark Twins to cart. $48.05, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Dark Twins: Imposture and Identity in Mark Twain's to cart. $48.33, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1989 by University of Chicago Press.
