THE MARK TWAIN HOUSE & MUSEUM

Go behind the scenes at the home of Mark Twain, real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and one of America's most celebrated writers. This 19-room house, which seems to have come straight out of the imagination of its former owner, is in Victorian Gothic style. Mark Twain and his wife had it built in 1874, without regard for the architectural conventions of the time. It is within these walls that the writer wrote some of his most famous texts: Tom Sawyer, but also Life on the Mississippi, or the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The writer spent seventeen years of his life in this house, together with his wife Olivia and their three daughters. Other notable personalities of the time took up residence in the then-popular neighborhood, such as the writer's wife Harriet Beecher Stowe, with whom Mark Twain became friends. Despite the success of his novels, Twain and his family were in financial trouble. In 1891, they were forced to leave home and move to Europe, where life was more affordable. The house was finally sold in 1903. As for the writer, he went from bad to worse: in the space of fourteen years, he lost his wife and two of his daughters in tragic circumstances. He spent the last years of his life in New York and died of a heart attack in 1910.

Left abandoned for decades, the house was threatened with destruction in 1929. Thanks to a fundraiser organized by a descendant of Harriet Beecher Stowe, it was finally spared. From the 1950s on, it underwent major renovations that lasted almost twenty years, to restore it to its long-lost splendour. In 1974, on the 100th anniversary of the house, the work was finally completed. It was converted into a museum and opened to the public. However, some rooms of the house are still undergoing renovations.

In 2003, the Visitors' Centre opened its doors. It houses the museum dedicated to the man, and especially the writer, who was Mark Twain. The house can only be discovered during guided tours, which last between 45 minutes and 1 hour 15 minutes. These tours are full of humour and show the everyday objects of the writer and his family. They also give an insight into the lives of the wealthy in late 19th century America.