The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coauthored The Gilded Age. Both men drew inspiration from their own lives in writing what many consider the first major American work of fiction to satirize the politics of Washington, DC, and the epidemic of speculation schemes following the Civil War.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known as Mark Twain, was born and raised in Missouri. His home state would become the main setting of several of his novels, including The Gilded Age. Twain was an early pioneer of literature’s Realism movement. His focus on middle- and lower-class characters in his writing was innovative for his time, helping to create an American style of literature distinct from the high culture of English novels.

Before returning to Missouri in 1857, Twain spent time working in New York and Philadelphia, two cities that play an important role as settings in The Gilded Age. Upon his return to St. Louis, he became a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. His pseudonym comes from the term for sounding river depths to ensure they’re safe for passage, to “mark twain,” or twelve feet. Chapter 4 of The Gilded Age draws on Twain’s expert knowledge of the river pilot’s craft.