PODCAST · arts

Society as I Have Found It by Ward McAllister (1827 - 1895)

by LibriVox

Mark Twain illustrator Dan Beard recalled discussing McAllister’s book with Twain. “It was before Webster & Company failed that Ward McAllister’s book (Society as I have Found It) appeared, and when he (Twain) sauntered into my studio one day, I said:‘Mr. Clemens, have you read Ward McAllister’s book?’‘Yes; have you?’ he replied.‘Indeed, I have. I have read it through several times, and intend to read it again. It is one of the most humorous books I ever read.’‘That’s so,’ said Mark, ‘that’s so. Now, I will tell you something. I spent three months writing a satire on that book of Ward McAllister’s. And when I got through, I again read McAllister’s book, and then my satire, and then tore the blamed thing up. Some things are complete in themselves and cannot be improved upon, and I take off my hat to Mr. McAllister.’” (ref. A Bibliography of the Work of Mark Twain by Merle Johnson)Wikipedia says: "McAllister's downfall came when he published a book of memoirs entitled Society as I H