HARTFORD, Conn.-- One thinks of life on the Mississippi River when Mark Twain's name is mentioned, but the author, whose given name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, wrote his most memorable books living as a prosperous Victorian gentleman in Hartford, Conn. Today the commodious red brick home, trimmed in black and vermilion, that he shared with his wife and three daughters for 17 years is a museum open to the public.
The former printer, river pilot, western roustabout, humorist and writer moved to Hartford with his bride, the former Olivia Langdon of Elmira, N.Y., to be close to his publisher. Although Twain was moderately successful, it was Livy's inheritance that paid for the house, completed in 1874.
The house went over budget, so it was not until 1881, with the success of "Tom Sawyer" and "A Tramp Abroad" that the interior got full attention. The Clemenses hired Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated Artists of New York, top designers of the late 19th century who drew heavily on African, East Indian and Oriental influences.