Friday - In Person!

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live."

- Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

Friday, July 7 at 7pm - Jody Rosen on TWO WHEELS GOOD: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle with Kerri Provost (In-Person)

The bicycle is a vestige of the Victorian era, seemingly at odds with our age of smartphones and ride-sharing apps and driverless cars. Yet we live on a bicycle planet. Across the world, more people travel by bicycle than any other form of transportation. In?Two Wheels Good,?journalist and critic Jody Rosen reshapes our understanding of this ubiquitous machine, an ever-present force in humanity’s life and dream life for more than two hundred years. Combining history, reportage, travelogue, and memoir, Rosen’s book examines the bicycle’s past and peers into its future, challenging myths and clichés while uncovering cycling’s connection to colonial conquest and the gentrification of cities. But the book is also a love letter: a reflection on the sensual and spiritual pleasures of bike riding and an ode to an engineering marvel—a wondrous vehicle whose passenger is also its engine.

In-Person Event: $10 non-members, $5 members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.?

Summer Fun for the Young Ones!

FREE ADMISSION FOR CT KIDS

Now through September 4

All summer long, Connecticut children 18 and under plus ONE accompanying adult receive free admission to The Mark Twain Houses & Museum, thanks to the CT Summer at the Museum initiative!

Learn more and access this program here: https://marktwainhouse.org/ctsummer/

Funding for the initiative is provided by the Connecticut General Assembly with the support of Connecticut Humanities and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.

Get Hooked on a Good Book!

The Mark Twain House Reading Challenge is open to ALL readers and will take place between June 10th-December 31st, 2023.

Participants are encouraged to participate and share their reads with us through our form, Facebook group, StoryGraph Challenge, and GoodReads Group.

Visitors to the Museum are also to encouraged to interact with our post-it wall and share with us: their favorite book, a book recommendation, and/or their own personal reading goals!

Learn more & join our reading challenge groups here: https://marktwainhouse.org/reading-challenge/

Need Some Great Book Ideas?

Looking for some great recommendations for the Mark Twain House Reading Challenge? The Mark Twain House & Museum has over 130 book talks on our YouTube Channel all featuring the authors themselves! Spanning fiction, memoir, history, social justice and more, these FREE VIDEOS feature intimate, insightful and fun conversations for you to enjoy. Check them out by CLICKING HERE.

Next Week!

A Virtual Double-Header on July 11!

Tuesday, July 11 at 12pm - A Lunchtime Conversation with Anya von Bremzen on NATIONAL DISH: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home with Andrew Beahrs (Virtual)

The acclaimed international food writer and award-winning author of Anya von Bremzen explores the history and future of six of the world’s most fascinating and iconic food cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—in her new book National Dish. She’ll take us on a fascinating journey to the heart of those storied food traditions, going high and low, from world-famous chefs to people on the street, in search of how cuisine became connected to place. A book of astonishing range and connoisseurship, National Dish peels back the layers of myth, commercialization, and fetishization around these great world cuisines. In so doing, it brings us to a deep appreciation of how the country makes the food, and the food the country.

Virtual: Choose your own price for non-members. Free for members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Tuesday, July 11 at 7pm ET - Alexandra Petri's U.S. HISTORY: Important American Documents (I Made Up) with Alexandra Petri and Mallory Howard (Virtual)

A witty, absurdist satire of the last five hundred years,?this is the fake textbook you never knew you needed! Alexandra Petri’s US History?contains a lost (invented!) history of America. Petri’s “historical fan fiction” draws on real events and completely absurd fabrications to create a laugh-out-loud, irreverent takedown of our nation’s complicated past. On Petri’s deranged timeline, even Mark Twain—who famously said reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated—offers a detailed account of his undeath, in which he becomes a zombie. This side-splitting work of historical humor shows why Alexandra Petri has been hailed as a “genius,” a “national treasure,” and “one of the funniest writers alive.”

Virtual: Free for members. Choose your own price for non-members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Just Announced!

The Thriller Writer Behind 73 New York Times Bestsellers Comes to Hartford!

Sunday, August 6 at 3pm - New York Times Bestseller SANDRA BROWN discusses OUT OF NOWHERE - A Novel with Mystery Author Chris Knopf

LIVE In-Person Event!

With more than 80 million books in print, Sandra Brown is a blockbusting bestseller - and she's coming to The Mark Twain House & Museum! In Out of Nowhere, Brown returns with a fast-paced, emotional thriller where the lives of a young mother and a high-rolling consultant collide under devastating circumstances—culminating in a desperate manhunt that will change their futures forever.

At a Texas county fair, amidst carousels and a bustling midway, children’s book author Elle Portman is enjoying a rare night out with her favorite cowboy: her two-year-old son, Charlie. But just as they’re about to head home, the unthinkable happens: a shooter opens fire into the crowd, causing widespread panic to erupt all around them.

Also caught in the melee was corporate consultant Calder Hudson. Arrogant, self-centered, and high off his latest career win, he’s frustrated and confused when he wakes up in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery on his arm. Others weren’t so lucky, which instills in Calder a furious determination to get justice . . . a goal shared by Elle.

In-Person Event: $42 includes a copy of the book. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.?

Because Friends Like You Believe in the Future of Greater Hartford

Endow Hartford 21 is a matching gift endowment program, initiated by the Zachs family and supported by other lead donors who believe in the nonprofit community across Greater Hartford. The 1:2 match seeks to inspire donors to give generously to support the long-term future of the organizations they love.

Build Strength and Stability

The challenges of the past few years have made all nonprofits keenly aware of the need to plan for the unexpected. Thanks to the vision and leadership of the Zachs Family Foundation and the other matching donors, we have an opportunity like no other to build our endowment fund. An endowment creates a long-term resource that helps us sustain our mission during periods of revenue fluctuations.  Now is the time for us to build for our future.  Will you help us?

Make Your Endowment Gift Go Farther with a Match

You can help secure the future of The Mark Twain House & Museum by making a donation to Endow Hartford 21. Any gift is welcome, but if your gift is between $250 and $10,000, it will be matched 50%!  

Step Up Now, Help Twain’s Legacy for Years to Come

The match is available until August 31, 2023 – but your impact will last forever.

For more information, visit www.EndowHartford21.com.  To make a gift online, visit The Mark Twain House & Museum Hartford Endow 21 Fund webpage. To send a check donation, download the donation form here.

To learn more about how you can make a transformational investment in our organization, please contact Dawn Veillette Diana, Director of Development, at 860-280-3113 or [email protected].

Upcoming Events
V = Virtual Event; IP = In-Person Event

Friday, July 7 at 7pm - Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle with Jody Rosen (IP)

Tuesday, July 11 at 12pm - National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home with Anya von Bremzen

Tuesday, July 11 at 7pm - Alexandra Petri's American History: Important American Documents (I Made Up) with Alexandra Petri (V)

Wednesday, July 12 at 12pm - CLEMENS CONVERSATIONS: How to Reform a Conscience (V)

Thursday, July 13 at 7pm - Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy with Colin Dickey (V)

Tuesday, July 18 at 7pm - The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial with David Lipsky (V)

Thursday, July 20 at 12pm - Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It with Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris (V)

Friday, July 21 at 7pm - The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood with Brian "Box" Brown

Tuesday, July 25 at 12pm - How Can I Help You - A Novel

Saturday, July 29 - Get a CLUE Tours of The Mark Twain House (IP)

Tuesday, August 1 - Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks - A Cool History of a Hot Commodity with Amy Brady (V)

Sunday, August 6 - Bestseller Sandra Brown LIVE on Out of Nowhere (IP)

September 23 - The Bark Twain Bash...It's the Cat's Meow fundraiser with Kenway's Cause (IP)

More to be announced soon!

To see all event information and registration, CLICK HERE.

To preorder books for our upcoming events, CLICK HERE. Signed books will be mailed after the event. Please note that we cannot ship outside of the U.S. at this time.