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The Mark Twain House and Museum was the home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) from 1874 to 1891 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Before 1874, Clemens lived in many places, most notably Hannibal, Missouri, where he spent his childhood, which he immortalized in his writing. The architectural style of the 19-room house is Victorian Gothic. The house is also notable for the major works written during his residency, including ''The Gilded Age'', ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'', ''The Prince and the Pauper'', ''Life on the Mississippi'', ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', ''A Tramp Abroad'', and ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Poor financial investments prompted the Clemens family to move to Europe in 1891.〔 The Panic of 1893 further threatened their financial stability, and during 1895-1896, Clemens, his wife, Olivia, and their middle daughter, Clara, spent a year traveling so Clemens could lecture and earn the money to pay off their debts. Twain recounted the trip in ''Following the Equator'' (1897). Before the family could be reunited with their other two daughters, Susy and Jean, who had stayed behind, Susy died at home on August 18, 1896 of spinal meningitis. The family could not bring themselves to reside in the house after this tragedy and spent most of their remaining years living abroad. They sold the house in 1903. The home in Hartford later functioned as a school, an apartment building, and a library. In 1962, the building was declared a National Historic Landmark.〔. 〕 Since 1974, it has had a multimillion-dollar renovation and an expansion dedicated to showcasing Twain's life and work. The house faced financial troubles in 2008 due to construction cost overruns with its new museum center. Since that time, the museum has rebounded to record-setting attendance and numbers of programs.〔(Writers Unite To Keep Twain House Afloat ). ''The New York Times'', September 19, 2008]〕 ==Life in the house== Mark Twain first came to Hartford in 1868 on business, while writing ''The Innocents Abroad,'' to work with publisher Elisha Bliss, Jr. of the American Publishing Company. At the time, Hartford was a publishing center with twelve publishers.〔Corbett, William. ''Literary New England: A History and Guide''. Boston: Faber & Faber, 1993: 11. ISBN 0-571-19816-3〕 After marrying Olivia Langdon, Twain moved into a substantial home in Buffalo, New York. However, within two years, Twain considered moving to a more opulent house in Hartford.〔Levine, Miriam. ''A Guide to Writers' Homes in New England''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Apple-wood Press, 1984: 20. ISBN 0-918222-51-6〕 He soon purchased the property in north Hartford, partly to be closer to his publisher, American Publishing Company. Of Hartford, Twain said, "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see, this is the chief... You do not know what beauty is if you have not been here."〔Haas, Irvin. ''Historic Homes of American Authors''. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1991. ISBN 0-89133-180-8. p. 29〕 He was attracted to the town which, at the time, had the highest per-capita income of any city in the United States.〔 The family rented a house at what was called Nook Farm in 1871 before buying land there and building a new house.〔 They moved into the home in 1874 after its completion.〔 The top floor was the billiards room and his private study, where Twain would write late at night; the room was strictly off limits to all but the cleaning staff. It was also used for entertaining male guests with cigars and liquor. Twain had said "There ought to be a room in this house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that." The children had their own area, with a nursery and a playroom/classroom. Mrs. Clemens tutored her daughters in the large school room on the second floor.〔Levine, Miriam. ''A Guide to Writers' Homes in New England''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Apple-wood Press, 1984: 21. ISBN 0-918222-51-6〕 Clemens played with his children in the conservatory, pretending to be an elephant in an imaginary safari. Twain noted the house "was of us, and we were in its confidence and lived in its grace and in the peace of its benediction." Clemens enjoyed living in the house, partly because he knew many different authors from his Hartford neighborhood, such as Harriet Beecher Stowe who lived next door and Isabella Beecher Hooker. In this home, Clemens worked on many of his most notable books, including ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and ''Life on the Mississippi'' (1883).〔Corbett, William. ''Literary New England: A History and Guide''. Boston: Faber & Faber, 1993: 12. ISBN 0-571-19816-3〕 The success of ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' inspired Clemens to renovate the home. In 1881, he had Louis Comfort Tiffany supervise the interior decoration of the house. Twain was also fascinated with new technologies, leading to the installation of an early telephone in the entrance hall. Clemens's invested heavily in the typesetting machine invented by James W. Paige.〔 He also formed the firm Charles L. Webster & Company, which published Twain's writings along with Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs. Its first publication was ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' in 1884.〔Levine, Miriam. ''A Guide to Writers' Homes in New England''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Apple-wood Press, 1984: 23. ISBN 0-918222-51-6〕 The company went bankrupt in 1894, leaving Twain with a large amount of debt.〔 Paige's typesetting machine never functioned properly and was overpowered by competition from the linotype machine developed by Whitlaw Reid.〔 After the losses from these investments as well as several bank panics, the Clemens family moved to Europe in 1891 where the cost of living was more affordable.〔 Clemens began lecturing across the continent to recoup some money for their family.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mark Twain House」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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