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Mark Twains Birth and Death
Samuel Langhorne Clemens is born in Florida, Missouri, the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. Mark Twain dies at the age of 74 at his home in Redding, Connecticut. -
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William Dean Howell's Birth and Death
William Dean Howell is another author from the realism period. He wrote famous books such as Christmas Every Day and The Rise of Silas Lapham. -
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Henry James Jr. Birth and Death
Known as one of the key figures of the 19th-century literary realsim. Some of his works include The Portrait of a Lady, The American, Washington Square, and and The Bostonians. -
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Kate Chopin's Birth and Death
Kate Chopin was a feminist writer who wrote about sensitive that were most often experienced by women. Her most popular work was The Awakening, focused on the women's ambitions and the hardships they faced. -
Becomes an Apprentice
Samuel Clemens begins a successful two-year apprenticeship to become a licensed river pilot. He learns the lingo of the trade, including "mark twain," a phrase that refers to the river depth at which a boat is safe to navigate. He soon adopts it as his pen name. -
Joins Harvard But Soon Leaves
At the outbreak of the Civil War, William enters Harvard, honoring his father's wishes by studying chemistry. Three years later, with the family fortune dwindling, he transfers to Harvard Medical School. A -
Gives Harvard Law A Shot
Henry is eager to do something during the Civil War other than be "just literary." Surprisingly, his father allows him to enroll in Harvard Law School. Law doesn't grip him, though, and he decides to become a full-time writer -
Realism Period Explained
Realism sets itself at work to consider characters and events which are apparently the most prdinary and uninteresting , in order to extract fro these their full value and true meaning. It would apprehend in all particluars the connection between the familar and the extraordinary , and the seen and unseen of human nature. -
What Created The Realsim Period
As the United States grew rapidly after the Civil War, the inreasing rates of democracy and literacy, the rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization , an expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class affluence provided a fertile literary enviornment for readers interested in understanding these rapid shifts in culture. -
Becomes Blinded For A Short Time
William joins Harvard naturalist Louis Agassiz's scientific expedition to Brazil. While there, William is temporarily blinded after contracting a smallpox-like ailment. He decides to pursue "a speculative life," not fieldwork -
The Realsim Literary Movement Started
Realsim is a literary movement that occured during 1865-1900. It focused on giving a view of what was occuring at that time, and on providing insight into what was really going on in the society. -
Kate Graduates School
Kate graduates from the Academy of the Sacred Heart. -
The Innocents Abroad Becomes Publsihed
Mark Twain's first book, The Innocents Abroad, becomes a bestseller -
Mark Twains Roughing It
Twain moves his family to Hartford, Connecticut. He publishes Roughing It, the memoir of his years in the West. -
The Gilded Age Becomes Published
Twain publishes the satiric novel The Gilded Age, its title giving a name to an entire era of American history. His most successful invention, the self-pasting scrapbook, makes its debut the same year. -
Tom Sawyer Becomes Published
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is published. -
Life on the Mississippi Becomes Published
Twain publishes Life on the Mississippi, his memoir of his years as a steamboat pilot. -
Mark Twain's Publishing Company
Twain founds his own publishing company, Charles L. Webster & Co. (named after his nephew and co-owner Charles L. Webster). It turns out to be a bad financial move—the company's struggles will eventually ruin his family's finances. -
Two Famous Works Published
In the span of less than a year, Twain publishes both his greatest fiction and non-fiction works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a biography of President Ulysses S. Grant. -
William Starts Writing for a Column
Howells begins writing the "Editor's Study" column for Harper's New Monthly Magazine. It contains some of his best criticism, and several pieces will be collected in Criticism and Fiction. -
Willaim Writes to Mark Twain
William's daughter becomes very sick and he writes to Mark Twain about if his daughter could read then they maybe could have done the experiment and succeeded. -
Kate Destroys Maunscript
Kate unsuccessfully submits the novel Young Dr. Gosse to several publishers. She later destroys the manuscript -
Ending To Great Works
Pudd'nhead Wilson, Twain's last novel, is published. After ten difficult years, Twain's publishing house, Charles L. Webster & Co., finally goes belly-up. The writer finds himself essentially bankrupt. Close friend Henry Huttleston Rogers takes over his finances, saving him from complete disaster. -
Novel Becomes Listed
Kate writes "The Gentleman from New Orleans", and is listed in the first edition of Who's Who in USA. -
Sad Deaths Lead To Angelfish Club
Twain moves into a house in Connecticut that he names Stormfield. Lonely and missing his wife and daughters, he forms a club of young girls called the Angelfish Club who meet regularly at his house to play cards.