“Alternately takes up panoramic historical and cultural vistas and carefully analyzes passages from all sorts of text with judgment and a sense of proportion.”—Tom Quirk, University of Missouri, author of Mark Twain and Human Nature
“The authors work seamlessly back and forth between historical data, biographical detail, and attention to multiple works by Twain that illuminate his complex relationship to the French and to France.”—Linda A. Morris, University of California, author of Gender Play in Mark Twain: Cross-Dressing and Transgression
“The layers of Mark Twain's protean life and ideas seem infinite and infinitely rich, especially when peeled back by such scrupulous scholars as Paula Harrington and Ronald Jenn. This fascinating, well written summa of his thoughts about the French people, their culture, and their politics—for decades regarded by most of us as merely part of his comic repertoire—reveal them in all their depth and complexity.”—Ron Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author of Mark Twain: A Life
“The resources utilized are impressive and indicate Harrington and Jenn left few stones unturned. Their writing style is direct and to the point. Their arguments that the French served Mark Twain as a foil to advance American culture and his own reputation as a distinctly American writer are strong and likely to convince future scholars for years to come.”—Mark Twain Forum
