"Reading this book is like traveling with someone who knows the best places to eat and the right people to meet, but who can still find joy in humble, improvised meals."

-The New York Times

Tuesday at 12pm

Tuesday, July 11 at 12pm - A Lunchtime Conversation with Anya von Bremzen on NATIONAL DISH: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home with Andrew Beahrs (Virtual)

The acclaimed international food writer and award-winning author of Anya von Bremzen explores the history and future of six of the world’s most fascinating and iconic food cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—in her new book National Dish. She’ll take us on a fascinating journey to the heart of those storied food traditions, going high and low, from world-famous chefs to people on the street, in search of how cuisine became connected to place. A book of astonishing range and connoisseurship, National Dish peels back the layers of myth, commercialization, and fetishization around these great world cuisines. In so doing, it brings us to a deep appreciation of how the country makes the food, and the food the country.

Virtual: Choose your own price for non-members. Free for members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Tuesday at 7pm

"Alexandra Petri’s deranged take on American history captures the spirit of the nation’s past so well, I’m afraid it’s going to be banned in Florida."

- Alexis Coe, author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington

Tuesday, July 11 at 7pm ET - Alexandra Petri's U.S. HISTORY: Important American Documents (I Made Up) with Alexandra Petri and Mallory Howard (Virtual)

A witty, absurdist satire of the last five hundred years,?this is the fake textbook you never knew you needed! Alexandra Petri’s US History?contains a lost (invented!) history of America. Petri’s “historical fan fiction” draws on real events and completely absurd fabrications to create a laugh-out-loud, irreverent takedown of our nation’s complicated past. On Petri’s deranged timeline, even Mark Twain—who famously said reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated—offers a detailed account of his undeath, in which he becomes a zombie. This side-splitting work of historical humor shows why Alexandra Petri has been hailed as a “genius,” a “national treasure,” and “one of the funniest writers alive.”

Virtual: Free for members. Choose your own price for non-members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Thursday at 7pm

"[A] gripping examination of America’s continuing embrace of conspiracy theories"

- Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

Thursday, July 13 at 7:00pm ET - UNDER THE EYE OF POWER: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy with Colin Dickey and Mitch Horowitz (Virtual)

We’d like to assume that panic and paranoia exist only at the fringes of society or are unique features of the internet age. From Colin Dickey, beloved cultural historian, comes UNDER THE EYE OF POWER: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy, where he charts the history of America through its paranoias and fears of secret societies. He seeks to explain why so many people—including some of the most powerful people in the country—continue to subscribe to these conspiracy theories. Paradoxically, he finds, belief in the fantastical and conspiratorial can be more soothing than what we fear the most: the chaos and randomness of history, the rising and falling of fortunes in America, and the messiness of democracy. Only in seeing the cycle of this history, Dickey says, can we break it.  

Virtual: Free for members. Choose your own price for non-members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Coming Next!

Tuesday, July 18 at 7pm - THE PARROT & THE IGLOO: Climate and the Science of Denial with David Lipsky and Cynthia von Buhler (Virtual)

The astonishing story of how we moved from one extreme (the correct one) to the other and explores how “anti-science” became so virulent in American life?through a history of climate denial and its consequences.

Virtual: Free for members. Choose your own price for non-members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Thursday, July 20 at 12pm - NOBODY'S FOOL: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It with Daniel Simons, Christopher Chabris and Diana Henriques (Virtual)

From phishing scams to Ponzi schemes, fraudulent science to fake art, chess cheaters to crypto hucksters, and marketers to magicians, our world brims with deception. In?Nobody’s Fool, psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris show us how to avoid being taken in.

Virtual: Free for members. Choose your own price for non-members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Friday, July 21 at 7pm - THE HE-MAN EFFECT: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood with Brian "Box" Brown and Alex Dueben (Virtual)

The He-Man Effect shows how corporate manipulation brought muscular, accessory-stuffed action figures to dizzying heights in the eighties and beyond. Bringing beloved brands like He-Man, Transformers, My Little Pony, and even Mickey Mouse himself into the spotlight, this graphic history exposes a world with no rules and no concern for results beyond profit.

Virtual: Free for members. Choose your own price for non-members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Saturday, July 29 starting at 7pm - GET A CLUE: Murder Mystery Tours with Sea Tea Improv return! (In-Person)

GET A CLUE Tours will be offered on special nights at The Mark Twain House & Museum, using the various rooms (secret passageway, conservatory, billiards room, and more) of the Twain house — and some of the author’s favorite literary characters — as part of the game. Who killed that varmint Pap Finn? Was it Tom Sawyer in the Library with the Wrench? Come find out. It is different every time!

$22-$30. Reservations are required, LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Summer Fun for the Young Ones!

FREE ADMISSION FOR CT KIDS
Now through September 4

All summer long, Connecticut children 18 and under plus ONE accompanying adult receive free admission to The Mark Twain Houses & Museum, thanks to the CT Summer at the Museum initiative!

Learn more and access this program here: https://marktwainhouse.org/ctsummer/

Funding for the initiative is provided by the Connecticut General Assembly with the support of Connecticut Humanities and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.

Get Hooked on a Good Book!

The Mark Twain House Reading Challenge is open to ALL readers and will take place between June 10th-December 31st, 2023.

Participants are encouraged to participate and share their reads with us through our form, Facebook group, StoryGraph Challenge, and GoodReads Group.

Visitors to the Museum are also to encouraged to interact with our post-it wall and share with us: their favorite book, a book recommendation, and/or their own personal reading goals!

Learn more & join our reading challenge groups here: https://marktwainhouse.org/reading-challenge/

Need Some Great Book Ideas?

Looking for some great recommendations for the Mark Twain House Reading Challenge? The Mark Twain House & Museum has over 130 book talks on our YouTube Channel all featuring the authors themselves! Spanning fiction, memoir, history, social justice and more, these FREE VIDEOS feature intimate, insightful and fun conversations for you to enjoy. Check them out by CLICKING HERE.

Just Announced!

The Thriller Writer Behind 73 New York Times Bestsellers Comes to Hartford!

Sunday, August 6 at 3pm - New York Times Bestseller SANDRA BROWN discusses OUT OF NOWHERE - A Novel with Mystery Author Chris Knopf

LIVE In-Person Event!

With more than 80 million books in print, Sandra Brown is a blockbusting bestseller - and she's coming to The Mark Twain House & Museum! In Out of Nowhere, Brown returns with a fast-paced, emotional thriller where the lives of a young mother and a high-rolling consultant collide under devastating circumstances—culminating in a desperate manhunt that will change their futures forever.

At a Texas county fair, amidst carousels and a bustling midway, children’s book author Elle Portman is enjoying a rare night out with her favorite cowboy: her two-year-old son, Charlie. But just as they’re about to head home, the unthinkable happens: a shooter opens fire into the crowd, causing widespread panic to erupt all around them.

Also caught in the melee was corporate consultant Calder Hudson. Arrogant, self-centered, and high off his latest career win, he’s frustrated and confused when he wakes up in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery on his arm. Others weren’t so lucky, which instills in Calder a furious determination to get justice . . . a goal shared by Elle.

In-Person Event: $42 includes a copy of the book. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.?

Because Friends Like You Believe in the Future of Greater Hartford

Endow Hartford 21 is a matching gift endowment program, initiated by the Zachs family and supported by other lead donors who believe in the nonprofit community across Greater Hartford. The 1:2 match seeks to inspire donors to give generously to support the long-term future of the organizations they love.

You can help secure the future of The Mark Twain House & Museum by making a donation to Endow Hartford 21. Any gift is welcome, but if your gift is between $250 and $10,000, it will be matched 50%!  

Step Up Now, Help Twain’s Legacy for Years to Come

The match is available until August 31, 2023 – but your impact will last forever.

For more information, visit our website by clicking HERE and scroll down to the Endow Hartford 21 section.

Upcoming Events
V = Virtual Event; IP = In-Person Event

Tuesday, July 11 at 12pm - National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home with Anya von Bremzen

Tuesday, July 11 at 7pm - Alexandra Petri's American History: Important American Documents (I Made Up) with Alexandra Petri (V)

Thursday, July 13 at 7pm - Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy with Colin Dickey (V)

Tuesday, July 18 at 7pm - The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial with David Lipsky (V)

Thursday, July 20 at 12pm - Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It with Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris (V)

Friday, July 21 at 7pm - The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood with Brian "Box" Brown (V)

Tuesday, July 25 at 12pm - How Can I Help You - A Novel with Laura Sims (V)

Tuesday, July 25 at 7pm - The Tiffany Girls - A Novel with Shelley Noble (V)

Wednesday, July 26 at 12pm - CLEMENS CONVERSATIONS: Mark Twain, Cosmic Traveler (V)

Saturday, July 29 - Get a CLUE Tours of The Mark Twain House (IP)

Tuesday, August 1 - Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks - A Cool History of a Hot Commodity with Amy Brady (V)

Sunday, August 6 - Bestseller Sandra Brown LIVE on Out of Nowhere (IP)

September 23 - The Bark Twain Bash...It's the Cat's Meow fundraiser with Kenway's Cause (IP)

More to be announced soon!

To see all event information and registration, CLICK HERE.

To preorder books for our upcoming events, CLICK HERE. Signed books will be mailed after the event. Please note that we cannot ship outside of the U.S. at this time.