New Episode of Catching Up With the Clemenses!

Learn all about the toys and games that the Clemens girls played with and the imagination games they played with their father in "Let's Play Inside!," our latest episode of Catching Up With the Clemenses!

This ongoing video series takes younger students inside the home and behind the scenes to connect the past and present.

Education programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are supported by Lincoln Financial Foundation; The Ellen Jean Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust; John and Kelly Hartman Foundation; George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America, N.A. Co-Trustee; Charles Nelson Robinson Fund, Bank of America, N.A. Trustee; and United States Department of Education.

MARK Your Calendar for a Celebration 150 Years in the Making!

A Jam-Packed Day Including...

- Bubblemania
- Christopher Agostino's Storyfaces
- Music by Jeff Mainville Duo
- Pie-eating Contest sponsored by Granny’s Pie Factory
- Americana Melodies with Ryan Mitten
- Furry Scaly Friends
- Music by Down Home Frolic
- Poetry typist Ellen Arnstein
- Performance by Seat of Our Pants
- Dazzle Day Face Painters
- Storytime with Living History
- Anne Cubberly’s Giant Puppets
- Twain's Wandering Tales
- Gramma Lil’s Food Truck
- Tarot Card Readings by Lauren Ciuksza

...and discounted tours of The Mark Twain House.

More details coming soon!

Coming Next

Saturday, August 31 at 7pm ET - GET A CLUE Murder-Mystery Tour of The Mark Twain House & Museum with Sea Tea Improv. (In-Person)

Who killed that varmint Pap Finn? Was it Tom Sawyer in the Library with the Wrench? The Prince (or was it the Pauper) in the Bedroom? We need YOU to solve this mystery!

Inspired by the classic murder-mystery board game, the GET A CLUE Tours use the various rooms of the Twain House (secret passageway, conservatory, billiards room, and more) - and some of the author’s favorite literary characters portrayed by hilarious costumed actors from Sea Tea Improv — as part of the game. This funny evening is perfect for kids ages 10 to 110.

Reservations a must! LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Members of MTH&M should login to access their member discount. Get a Clue Tours are sponsored by Webster Bank.

Thursday, September 5 at 7pm ET - Richard Deming on THIS EXQUISITE LONELINESS: What Loners, Outcasts, and the Misunderstood Can Teach Us About Creativity with Alex Dueben (In-Person) 

In This Exquisite Loneliness, Richard Deming turns an eye toward that unwelcome feeling of loneliness, both in his own experiences and the lives of six groundbreaking figures, to find the context of it and to see what some people have done to navigate this profound sense of discomfort. Deming explores how loneliness has served as fuel for an intense creative desire that has forged some of the most original and innovative art and writing of the twentieth century. This singular meditation on loneliness reveals how we might transform the pain of emotional isolation and become more connected to others and more at home with our often unquiet selves. 

In-Person Event. Choose your own price for non-members. Free for MTH&M and community members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Copies of This Exquisite Loneliness are available for purchase through the Mark Twain Store; proceeds benefit The Mark Twain House & Museum. Books will be shipped after the event.

It's Book O'Clock!

A Mark Twain Museum Store Featured Item!

THE AUTHOR CLOCK:

A Novel Way to Tell Time

This unique clock tells time through literary quotes with a new hand-picked passage for each minute of the day!

‍Author Clock has a library of over 13,000 literary quotes spanning seven centuries and six continents. Each story snippet references the time at that very moment. ‍The Volume 1 clock option rests on a brass base and is readable from an arm’s length away, making it the perfect companion for your desk or nightstand. 

Check out the video above to see The Author Clock in action! Available in two sizes. Click the buttons below to learn more and order yours today. Payment plan available!

Author Clock Vol. 1 (Small)

Author Clock Vol. 2 (Large)

Only Three Weeks Left to Close the Gap!

Thanks to another generous donor making a fantastic gift of $250, we've reached 83% of the cost to conserve and restore the following items!

- Six original woven cord and leather pockets of a Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company billiard table. The table was a gift to Mark Twain from Standard Oil magnate Henry Rogers and his wife. There are a number of photographs of Twain playing on the table.

- A tooled leather travel trunk with a canvas and leather cover that is stamped S.L. Clemens (for Samuel Langhorne Clemens) and that still bears many travel labels, including ones from Paris and New York.

We only need to raise $2,552.02 to ensure work is completed and get these historic Twain artifacts back home where they belong. We hope you will consider a generous gift. Thank you!

Make a Gift

Scores of Tours

Plan your visit to the Clemens Family's National Historic Landmark home in Hartford! Listed by Forbes as America's Best House Museum and selected as one of the Ten Best Historic Homes in the World in National Geographic's The Ten Best of Everything. Your visit includes admission to our current exhibition, FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE: Twain's Summer Sojourns.

Book Your Visit

Exhibitions are supported by the Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation. Additional support provided by the State of Connecticut Office of the Arts, CT Humanities, and Webster Bank.

GRAVEYARD SHIFT GHOST TOURS - Halloween season tours begin September 27. Now booking!!!

Experience the eerie allure of the Clemens Family home after dark with our Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours. Delve into the chilling depths of haunted history, Victorian seances, and firsthand encounters with the supernatural. Join us for a spine-tingling journey where you’ll hear tales of paranormal investigations, unexplained phenomena witnessed by both staff and guests, and even insights into Mark Twain’s own fascination with the otherworldly.

As seen on Syfy Channel’s Ghost Hunters (three times!), Biography Channel’s My Ghost Story, WNPR’s Where We Live, and The West London Witch Podcast, The Mark Twain House is a phantastic experience you won’t want to miss.

Tickets are $31.25 for Adults and $23 for Children (not recommended for youth under 10). Reserve your spot now as these tours sell out fast —secure your tickets BY CLICKING HERE.

Offered daily, our Living History Tours are an immersive experience that allow you to explore a slice of life in the Clemens household. Meet the family and friends who shaped Twain’s life and celebrate the hardworking servants who kept the household running. Led by an actor portraying a member of the household, each tour is about 70 minutes and includes opportunities not available on a general house tour. Reserve your Living History Tour by CLICKING HERE.

What was it like to learn, play, and grow up in the The Gilded Age?

In this special hour-long interactive tour, young visitors explore the everyday lives of the Clemens daughters—the books, games, and songs they loved, the subjects they studied, and the people they interacted with. Led by an experienced guide, this inquiry-based tour invites children to think about the ways that childhood and family life in the Gilded Age were similar and different to their own.

This tour is best suited to children ages 4-10. In order to best serve our youngest visitors and fully explore the experience of childhood in the Clemens home, this tour does not include the third floor of the house.

All children must be accompanied by an adult. GROWING UP IN THE GILDED AGE tours are offered daily at 10:45am throughout the summer. To make a reserveration, CLICK HERE.

Guests participating in the Museums for All program with SNAP EBT cards are eligible to participate in this tour (subject to space availability).

Learn more about the MUSEUMS FOR ALL program and how you can book your tickets with your SNAP EBT Card by CLICKING HERE.

Upcoming Events

V = Virtual Event; IP = In-Person Event

August 31 - Get a CLUE Murder-Mystery Tours featuring Sea Tea Improv (IP)

September 5 - Richard Deming on THIS EXQUISITE LONELINESS: What Loners, Outcasts, and the Misunderstood Can Teach Us About Creativity (IP)

September 14 - The Mark Twain House 150th Anniversary Community Celebration (IP)

Starts September 27 - Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours of The Mark Twain House (IP)

November 1 - The Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Celebration (IP)

More to be announced soon!

To see all event information and registration, CLICK HERE.

To preorder books for our upcoming events, CLICK HERE. Signed books will be mailed after the event. Please note that we cannot ship outside of the U.S. at this time.

Your donation to The Mark Twain House & Museum helps us meet our mission to preserve the home and legacy of Mark Twain. Thank you for your generosity!

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