If you are one of the legions of admirers of Mark Twain, don't expect to have your assumptions about his character unchallenged by "Twain's End." Samuel Clemens was obviously a complicated man, who traced a path from dirt poverty to celebrated, almost revered, author. The story of Isobel Lyon, Clemens' secretary and frequent companion as he neared the end of his life, is a sad one. Lyon clearly loved the man, but his return emotions are considerably more opaque. Their relationship was complicated by the existence of Clemens' invalid wife, his two daughters, and the other members of the Clemens household and business retinue. In the end, Clemens didn't only repudiate Lyons, he tried to ruin her.

Cullen's fictionalization of this period in Clemens' life goes some way to restoring the balance. Clemens comes across as an angry, damaged old man whose irrational behavior ruined the lives of his family.

The book is interesting, and enlightening about the historical period. I enjoyed the cameo appearances of some of the well-known figures of the time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Author Lynn Cullen does her research on this, and other novels. She has an extraordinary ability to shine a new light on real-life people we think we knew. Her works are always flawless, including Twain's End.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

Read this one a very long time ago and thought it was interesting. Highly entertaining! If you are looking for a more serious read, here you go.

Have admired Twain my whole life, to be honest this book made me question if I admire the man or simply his work. The story reminds us our heroes are human who were vulnerable to their weaknesses as all of can be in some form or another. I believe in balance, so true Twain fans, read this book and then follow it with the audible original Twain’s Feast narrated by Nick Offerman—a perfect Twain pairing.

Overall, this was an interesting book and take on the relationship between Twain and Lyons, which used Lyons diary as a fascinating source. I enjoyed how the author lifted pieces from actual writings and wove them into her words, and framed some of her imaginings around them.

However, there was not much about the relationship between Lyons and Ashcroft, sometimes the POV is tricky, and it was really slow in too many places for me to want to read it again.

I really enjoyed this fictional account of Mark Twain and his relationship with his private secretary Isabel Lyon. It’s based on Isabel’s diary and Twain’s own writings and letters, which the author has used to good effect to weave a story of love and passion and ultimately rejection. It’s an entertaining tale that felt reasonably credible. Not that Twain comes out of it at all well – he appears childish, objectionable and vindictive, and it’s an intriguing portrait. In fact he’s so unappealing it’s hard to see what Isabel saw in him to make her put up with his ill treatment of her. There are some fascinating cameo appearances from Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan and others, and it all hangs together quite well, even if it does verge on the melodramatic at times and is somewhat repetitive. But overall it’s a fun read and even if not completely true to life, still convincing enough.

I unfortunately didn't care for this book. I couldn't get into the story.

I liked this book. But I had a hard time connecting with Clara. Which just means that Cullen did such an amazing job writing a book that showcased their confused feelings towards each other.