Before putting 2021 behind me, I want to be sure to mention my article that came out in the Mark Twain Annual at the end of the year. It might interest anyone who wants to know more about Twain and Jules Verne.

The article, “The Mysterious Origins of Twain’s ‘Skeleton Novelette,'” covers the writing and history of “A Murder, A Mystery, and a Marriage,” which ends with its villain describing how he threw Jules Verne from a hot-air balloon. The novelette was supposed to be part of a writing contest that never happened, and it went unpublished until 2001!

I’m the book review editor for the Annual, and our 2021 issue has my Brief Reviews section covering excellent new books from Nathan Wolff, Elizabeth Freeman, and Sarah Meer.