Roughing It
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Roughing It is semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was authored during 1870–71 and published in 1872 as a sequel to his first book Innocents Abroad. This book tells of Twain's adventures prior to his pleasure cruise related in Innocents Abroad.
Roughing It follows the travels of young Mark Twain through the "Wild West" during the years 1861–1867. After a brief stint as a Confederate cavalry militiaman, he joined his brother who had been appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory, on a stagecoach journey west. Twain consulted his brother's diary to refresh his memory and borrowed heavily from his active imagination for many stories in the novel. Roughing It illustrates many of Twain's early adventures, including a visit in Salt Lake City with Mormon leader Brigham Young, gold and silver prospecting, real-estate speculation, and his beginnings as a writer. Readers can see the beginning of Twain's rough hewn humor. This humor would be a staple of his writing into his later books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Tom Sawyer novels.
- Roughing It, available at Project Gutenberg.
- Roughing It, text plus additional background material.