A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage / Mark Twain / 112 pages / Missouri Challenge

I really enjoyed this serendipitous find! This short book features the novelette named above written by Missouri author Mark Twain. It also contains an informative Forward detailing Twain's reason for writing the story. Apparently in 1876, he wanted 12 authors to accept his challenge to write a blindfold novelette. They would receive a skeleton of the plot and write stories fleshing out the skeleton according to their passions, proclivities, and personalities. The story recorded here is Twain's own flesh and bones version. Unfortunately, no one accepted his challenge and his is the only version passed on to posterity. The detailed Afterword relates significant historical events and Twain's reaction to them. It also informs the reader that Mark Twain was highly competitive with author Jules Verne who had published Five Days in a Balloon just as Twain was publishing Tom Sawyer.