Samuel Longhorne Clemens (1835-1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer. His best known works include the novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the latter often called "The Great American Novel". Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri which later provided the setting for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. After an apprenticeship to a printer, contributing articles to his brother's paper, a stint as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi, and turning his hand to mining, he took up journalism and his humorous story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865) brought him international recognition. It was not long before his wit and satire, in both prose and speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he became a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. His writing and lectures earned him a great deal of money but he invested in ventures which lost most of it and filed for bankruptcy in the wake of his financial setbacks. He did, however, eventually pay back his creditors in full. This collection of nine of Twain's stories was first published in 1893 by Charles L Webster & Co in the US and by Chatto & Windus in the UK. In addition to the title story the others in the collection are: Mental Telegraphy, A Cure for the Blues, The Enemy Conquered, or, Love Triumphant, About All Kinds of Ships, Playing Courier, The German Chicago, A Petition to the Queen of England, and A Majestic Literary Fossil.