"Eve's Diary" is a comic short story by
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...
.
It was first published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...
'', in book format as one contribution to a volume entitled "Their Husband's Wives" and then in June 1906 as a standalone book by
Harper and Brothers
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
publishing house.
Summary
It is written in the style of a diary kept by the first woman in the biblical creation story,
Eve, and is claimed to be "translated from the original MS." The "
plot" of this story is the first-person account of Eve from her creation up to her burial by her mate
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
, including meeting and getting to know him, and exploring the world around her,
Eden. The story then jumps 40 years into the future after the Fall and expulsion from Eden.
It is one of a series of books Twain wrote concerning the story of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
, including ''
Extracts from Adam's Diary'', 'That Day In Eden,' 'Eve Speaks,' 'Adam's Soliloquy,' and the 'Autobiography of Eve.' "Eve's Diary" has a lighter tone than the others in the series, as Eve has a strong appreciation for beauty and love.
The book may have been written as a posthumous love-letter to Mark Twain's wife
Olivia Langdon Clemens
Olivia Langdon Clemens (November 27, 1845 – June 5, 1904) was the wife of the American author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.
Early life
Olivia Langdon was born in 1845 in Elmira, New York, to Jervis Langdon and Olivia L ...
, or Livy, who died in June 1904, just before the story was written. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "'Eve's Diary' is finished — I've been waiting for her to speak, but she doesn't say anything more." The story ends with Adam lamenting at Eve's grave, "Wheresoever she was, there was Eden."
Illustrations
The book version of the story was published with 55 illustrations by
Lester Ralph Lester Ralph (1876 or 1877 – 1927) was an artist who illustrated for several publications.
Personal life
Ralph was the son of author and journalist Julian Ralph.
In 1904, Ralph married war correspondent Elsie Reasoner, who became a famous m ...
, on each left hand page. The illustrations depicted Eve and Adam in their natural settings. The depiction of an unclothed woman was considered pornographic when the book was first released in the United States, and created a controversy around the book. A library in
Charlton, Massachusetts
Charlton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,315 at the 2020 census.
History
Charlton was first settled in 1735. It was established as a District separated from Oxford on January 10, 1755, and b ...
banned the book for the depictions of Eve in "summer costume."
When contacted Twain replied:
Two weeks later, after testifying before Congress, he elaborated as reported in the ''
Washington Herald
''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939.
History
The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of '' The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...
'',
In a handwritten inscription in the front of at least one copy of the book, he wrote:
And in a letter to a friend, Harriett E. Whitmore, he commented:
Gallery
File:Twain - Eve's Diary, p. 001.jpg, "Eve's Diary", page 1 Harper & Brothers
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
, New York, London, 1906
File:Twain - Eve's Diary, p. 003.jpg, "Eve's Diary", page 3
Image:Eves Diary title page.jpg, "Eve's Diary", page 12
Image:Eves Diary p42.jpg, Controversial Illustration, page 42
Stage adaptation
David Birney adapted the novel into a play called ''Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve''.
References
External links
Full text of book, without illustrationsFull text of book, with all of Lester Ralph's illustrationsProject Gutenberg
*
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070930070238/http://199.236.117.33/twainweb/reviews/rob1-rev.html Review of reprint of Excerpt of ''Adams Diary'' and ''Eve's Diary''
Excerpt from ''Washington Herald'' article
* https://books.google.com/books?id=4_KcPtlambsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
* http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/eves-diary-by-mark-twain