Monday, July 15 at 7pm ET - THE COMPLETE PERSONAL ESSAYS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON with Editor Trenton Olsen in conversation with Steve Courtney (In-Person)

For all of Robert Louis Stevenson’s achievements in fiction, many of his contemporaries thought of him primarily as an essayist. His essays, known for their intellectual substance, emotional force, and stylistic vitality, were widely considered the best of their time. Despite the importance of Stevenson’s nonfiction, his personal essays-seventy in total-have never been printed together in a single volume until now. This volume gathers his personal essays, many of which have never appeared in any modern edition, in their authorized versions. These essays are still considered classic models of the form, and in this volume, the Editor presents them alongside an introduction and notes to assist in a rereading and reappreciation that is long overdue.

Copies of The Complete Personal Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson are available for purchase through the Mark Twain Store; proceeds benefit The Mark Twain House & Museum.  

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

Happy Birthday, Jean Clemens!

Pet Food & Supplies Donation Drive

It's Jean Clemens' birth month and we can't think of a more fitting way to honor her birthday than to host a Pet Food/Supplies Donation Drive. Jean was an animal lover and advocate her entire life, as well as a huge supporter of the Humane Society. Throughout the month of July, The Mark Twain House & Museum will be accepting donations of pet food and supplies that will be given to the Connecticut Humane Society. A copy of their wish list can be FOUND HERE. Please check the list before donating items to ensure they will be put to good use.

Stop by our lobby during normal business hours to drop off your donations. As a thank-you, you will receive a 10% discount coupon to be used in our museum store. We are happy to continue Jean’s legacy of caring for nature and animals!

Only One Month Left to Raise These Preservation Funds!

You can play a role in the conservation of two vital pieces of our collection. We've raised 70% 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 $4,392 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

Community Accessibility at Twain

We are delighted to announce that The Mark Twain House & Museum has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits. The program supports those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits visiting The Mark Twain House & Museum for a reduced fee of $3.00 per person, up to four people, with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Beginning July 17, we will offer this discount on the General Mark Twain House Tour throughout the day every day and on our tour for children and families, Growing up in the Gilded Age offered once per day in the morning (schedule may vary). 

Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible members of the public at more than 850 museums across the country. Museums for All is part of The Mark Twain House & Museum’s broad commitment to seek, include, and welcome all audiences.

Tours Selling Out!

Saturday, July 27 at 7pm ET - GET A CLUE Murder-Mystery Tour of The Mark Twain House & Museum with Sea Tea Improv!

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.

Summer Fun for Young Ones

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 (see above) are eligible to participate in this tour (subject to space availability).

Book Babes!

This green corduroy baseball cap provides shade for your favorite book lover on a sunny beach day.

$29.95 each, plus shipping. ORDER ONLINE or stop in the store!

Road Trip!

Plan your visit to the Clemens Family's National Historic Landmark home in Hartford! Listed by Forbes as the Best Historic House in the United States and selected as one of the Ten Best Historic Homes in the World in National Geographic's The Ten Best of Everything.

Book Your Visit

Upcoming Events

V = Virtual Event; IP = In-Person Event

July 15 - The Complete Personal Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson with Editor Trenton Olsen (IP)

July 27 - Get a CLUE Murder-Mystery Tours featuring Sea Tea Improv (IP)

August 1 - The Puerto Rican War: A Graphic History with John Vasquez Mejias (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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