How Long to Read Mark Twain's Aquarium

How Long Does it Take to Read Mark Twain's Aquarium?

It takes the average reader 5 hours and 38 minutes to read Mark Twain's Aquarium by Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

"What I lacked and what I needed," confessed Samuel Clemens in 1908, "was grandchildren." Near the end of his life, Clemens became the doting friend and correspondent of twelve schoolgirls ranging in age from ten to sixteen. For Clemens, "collecting" these surrogate granddaughters was a way of overcoming his loneliness, a respite from the pessimism, illness, and depression that dominated his later years. In Mark Twain's Aquarium, John Cooley brings together virtually every known communication exchanged between the writer and the girls he called his "angelfish." Cooley also includes a number of Clemens's notebook entries, autobiographical dictations, short manuscripts, and other relevant materials that further illuminate this fascinating story. Clemens relished the attention of these girls, orchestrating chaperoned visits to his homes and creating an elaborate set of rules and emblems for the Aquarium Club. He hung their portraits in his billiard room and invented games and plays for their amusement. For much of 1908, he was sending and receiving a letter a week from his angelfish. Cooley argues that Clemens saw cheerfulness and laughter as his only defenses against the despair of his late years. His enchantment with children, years before, had given birth to such characters as Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher, and Huck Finn. In the frivolities of the Aquarium Club, it found its final expression. Cooley finds no evidence of impropriety in Clemens behavior with the girls. Perhaps his greatest crime, the editor suggests, was in idealizing them, in regarding them as precious collectibles. "He tried to trap them in the amber of endless adolescence," Cooley writes. "By pleading that they stay young and innocent, he was perhaps attempting to deny that, as they and the world continued to change, so must he."

How long is Mark Twain's Aquarium?

Mark Twain's Aquarium by Samuel Langhorne Clemens is 328 pages long, and a total of 84,624 words.

This makes it 111% the length of the average book. It also has 103% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Mark Twain's Aquarium Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 7 hours and 42 minutes to read Mark Twain's Aquarium aloud.

What Reading Level is Mark Twain's Aquarium?

Mark Twain's Aquarium is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Mark Twain's Aquarium?

Mark Twain's Aquarium by Samuel Langhorne Clemens is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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