Sketches New and Old

This collection of 63 writings by Mark Twain was published in 1882. Among other sketches, it contains "The Jumping Frog" in the original English, followed by a French translation (read here by Caroline Mittler) which Twain re-translated into English, showing how the French translation of his work was "badly flawed." In many of these sketches, Twain shows his talent for outrageous and hilarious inventiveness, often in reaction to current events. (Summary by John Greenman) (10 hr 33 min)

Chapters

01 Chapter 1 Preface & My Watch	8:08	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 2 Political Economy	14:49	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 3 The Jumping Frog	43:08	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 4 Journalism In Tennessee	14:19	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 5 The Story of the Bad Little Boy	7:53	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 6 The Story of the Good Little Boy	10:37	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 7 A Couple of Poems by Twain and Moore	1:50	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 8 Niagra	16:08	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 9 Answers to Correspondents	21:49	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 10 To Raise Poultry	6:17	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 11 Experience of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup	14:24	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 12 My First Literary Venture	5:29	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 13 How the Author was Sold in Newark	3:45	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 14 The Office Bore	4:57	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 15 Johnny Greer	1:47	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 16 The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract	15:07	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 17 The Case of George Fisher	18:05	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 18 Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy	8:50	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 19 The Judge's "Spirited Woman"	3:31	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 20 Information Wanted	4:44	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 21 Some Learned Fables, for Good Old Boys an Girls -Part First	24:23	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 22 Some Learned Fables, for Good Old Boys an Girls -Part Second	15:40	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 23 Some Learned Fables, for Good Old Boys an Girls -Part Third	10:30	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 22 My Late Senatorial Secretaryship	11:58	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 25 A Fashion Item	2:00	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 26 Riley-Newspaper Correspondent	8:42	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 27 A Fine Old Man	1:28	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 28 Science vs. Luck	6:13	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 29 The Late Benjamin Franklin	7:27	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 30 Mr. Bloke's Item	7:54	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 31 A Medieval Romance	18:16	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 32 Petition Concerning Copyright	2:11	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 33 After-Dinner Speech	6:11	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 34 Lionizing Murderers	10:42	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 35 A New Crime	10:22	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 36 A Curious Dream	23:15	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 37 A True Story	12:14	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 38 The Siamese Twins	9:32	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 39 Speech at the Scottish Banquet in London	8:01	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 40 A Ghost Story	15:50	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 41 The Capitoline Venus	12:17	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 42 Speech on Accident Insurance	4:00	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 43 John Chinaman in New York	3:40	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 44 How I Edited an Agricultural Paper	13:21	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 45 The Petrified man	7:10	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 46 My Bloody Masacre	6:44	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 47 The Undertaker's Chat	5:32	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 48 Concerning Chambermaids	4:50	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 49 Aurelia's Unfortunate Young Man	7:05	Read by John Greenman
Chapter 50 "After" Jenkins	2:26	Read by John Greenman
About Barbers	9:21	Read by John Greenman
"Party Cries" in Ireland	2:39	Read by John Greenman
The Facts Concerning the Recent Resignation	15:59	Read by John Greenman
History Repeats Itself	2:41	Read by John Greenman
Honored as a Curiousity	3:02	Read by John Greenman
First Interview With Artemus Ward	7:55	Read by John Greenman
Cannibalism In The Cars	21:26	Read by John Greenman
The Killing of Julius Caesar "Localized"	11:45	Read by John Greenman
The Widow's Protest	2:17	Read by John Greenman
The Scriptural Panoramist	6:03	Read by John Greenman
Curing a Cold	10:31	Read by John Greenman
A Curious Pleasure Excursion	10:49	Read by John Greenman
Running for Governor	12:02	Read by John Greenman
A Mysterious Visit	11:52	Read by John Greenman

Reviews

Some real hidden gems.

(5 stars)

Grodhagen

First, the reader is magnificent. It's not hard to imagine that you are listening to the author. In fact, both stem from the same area of the MidMississippi River. As with any writing that is now 100 to 150 years old, it helps to have a sense of history, and not just major events, but, as well, with the epoch's prevailing attitudes and beliefs. That said, there is a timelessness about Samuel Clemens that makes these sketches ring true about human nature. Together with the other large volumes on Twain's newspaper articles, we see that---altough we often think of his novels---the man was a master of shorter works, and here we are treated to a smörgåsbord of genres, from the serious to the tall tale, along with unexpected side trips.

sketched smiles

(5 stars)

Shelly

Don't know how anyone could find these boring. They are all interesting, astute,whimsical and entertaining. So many different subjects....they all made me smile and frequently, I laughed aloud. Excellent reader - the right tone throughout.

Decent Twain. Fantastic reading.

(4 stars)

Bizz

The narration is among the best you'll find here. or anywhere else, for that matter. Easy to clear and understand. Engaging.

Cavorting

(4.5 stars)

godot

Excellent voice for Twain, and excellent reading. But check the pronunciation of the word 'cavorting'.

MT truly scraped the barrel to publish this boring collection.

(1 stars)

Joy

well read