![Isabel Lyon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Isabel_Lyon.jpg)
Isabel Van Kleek Lyon (December 15, 1863 – December 4, 1958) was
Mark Twain's secretary for most of his final years. While in this position, she gained significant influence over Twain's personal and business affairs. Twain fired her in 1909 for reasons that remain in dispute.
Mark Twain's secretary
Lyon was born in
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...
, to a well-off family.
Her father's early death plunged the family into poverty, and Lyon became a
governess.
She became acquainted with Twain in the 1890s and often played
whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play.
History
Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump'' ...
with him. In 1902, Twain hired Lyon as a secretary because his wife,
Olivia Olivia may refer to:
People
* Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer
* Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 19 ...
, was becoming too ill to handle his correspondence. After Olivia's death in 1904, Lyon moved into Twain's house and assisted him with his
autobiography. She also disbursed allowances to Twain's daughters
Clara
Clara may refer to:
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* CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization
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* Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium
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* Clara (given name), a feminine gi ...
and
Jean
Jean may refer to:
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* Jean (female given name)
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* Jea ...
. Lyon helped to supervise the construction of Stormfield, Twain's estate in
Redding, Connecticut
Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 census.
History
Early settlement and establishment
At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present- ...
, and managed the property afterwards.
Twain bought Lyon a house, called The Lobster Pot, near Stormfield to keep her close by. Twain's trust in Lyon caused him to grant her a
power of attorney
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
in 1907.
Dismissal
In March 1909, Lyon married Ralph Ashcroft, a business associate of Twain. At about this time, Twain allegedly began to suspect Lyon of using her position to help herself to his money, particularly for remodeling her house. He also alleged that Lyon was scheming to marry him. It has been suggested
that Clara, an aspiring singer, turned Twain against Lyon out of fear that Lyon would expose Clara's
extramarital affair
An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...
with her married accompanist. Another author
has said that Twain's charges were accurate and that Lyon was trying to isolate Twain from his daughters, especially Jean, who was
epileptic
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
and dependent on Twain for support. Biographer Hamlin Hill defends Lyon is his book, ''Mark Twain, God's Fool''. He states "Isabel probably did expend $2,000 more on the renovations of her cottage than the $1,500 she officially borrowed. That she did so as premeditated embezzlement could only be persuasive to a mind so confused that logical counterargument was unacceptable...She could well have claimed that a fee for the interior decorating of a $45,000 house
tormfieldwould have more than covered the costs of her own cottage...Her mistake was in not questioning whether Clemens' loyalty to her was as compelling and powerful as her loyalty to him" (240-241).
Twain fired Lyon in April 1909 and forced her to return the property, called The Lobster Pot, that he had given her. Twain was bitter over the affair; he denounced Lyon as "a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded & salacious slut pining for seduction." He wrote a 429-page manuscript outlining his complaints against Lyon and Ashcroft.
This "
Ashcroft-Lyon Manuscript" was kept private by Twain with his intention being to publish it if Lyon were to go public with details of the relationship.
It was published in 2015 as part of the
third volume of Twain's autobiography.
Later years
Lyon and Ashcroft moved to Canada and divorced in 1927, after which Lyon moved to New York and resumed work as a secretary. She seldom spoke of her years with Twain, but she met regularly with
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called '' Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
, who was developing his one-man show ''
Mark Twain Tonight
Mark may refer to:
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* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
''.
Lyon died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
in her
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
apartment on December 4, 1958, two weeks before her 95th birthday.
References
;Notes
Hill, Hamlin. Mark Twain God's Fool. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973. Print.
Further reading
* Cullen, Lynn (2015)
Twain's End'. New York: Gallery Books. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Isabel
1863 births
1958 deaths
Secretaries