March 3, 2006
Though the rest of the country thinks of Samuel Langhorne Clemens as a southerner, it was a spell in San Francisco and the wilds of California which turned young Sam into "Mark Twain".
This week’s podcast tells the story of how a misfired duel, a bungled gold-mining claim, a suit for libel — and yes, a frog — conspired to create a work which took New York by storm and helped to forge an American original.
For further edification:
» The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
» Sam Clemens biography – albert paine
» Mark Twain in the west – pbs.org
» Annik’s “domain-jumped” website – restored!
- Lefty O’Doul Hall of Fame Campaign
- SFist — tippling with kipling, san francisco 1889
- book review — “San Francisco Almanac”
- Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, October 13-19
- SFist — “not even jackassable”
Musical support:
Thanks to Tom Joad for the banjo tune “Bonaparte’s Retreat” – provided under a Creative Commons license
4 responses to “#49: Sam Clemens and the Celebrated Jumping Frog”
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trackbacks & pingbacks:
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Pingback from Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, November 17-23 » Sparkletack - the San Francisco History Podcast
November 17, 2008 at 12:13 pm[…] Twain’s improbable wild west tale about an inveterate gambler and a jumping frog becomes the talk of New York […]
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Pingback from Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, December 22-31 » San Francisco History Podcast - Sparkletack
December 28, 2008 at 4:31 pm[…] resort burned so quickly, in fact, that its famous guest book, inscribed by such notables as Mark Twain, Ulysses S Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes, was lost along with the building […]
Sparkletack was the blog and podcast of a guy obsessed with diggin' up San Francisco history. The site is on permanent hiatus.
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March 9, 2006 at 10:23 pm
You still have my all-time favorite SF podcast going on and can’t wait for #50. Are you going to have a celebration or something for it? If not would love to just buy you a beer sometime since we never got to meet up before. Anyway keep up the great stuff!
March 13, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Richard,
Thanks for the backstory on this frog yarn. I used to work in Sonora and of course went to the annual event at the Calaveras Fairgrounds several times. I just had my boys up there skiing and had your podcast along so when we got home I read them the story and they really enjoyed it. It is interesting how the context of certain things get lost when looking back in time. As you know, the vernacular style of Mark Twain was a BIG deal when it came out, no less revolutionary than the building of the Brooklyn Bridge – things most people assume were commonplace for their time. Twain was one of those celebrities that everyone wanted a sound bite from on every current affair – and he delivered.