Samuel Langhorne Clemens 'Mark Twain' (1835-1910)
image: http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in

From an interesting article about the soon-to-be-released first volume of Mark Twain’s full autobiography — which he instructed not to be published for 100 years after his death (which is now):

“There is a perception that Twain spent his final years basking in the adoration of fans. The autobiography will perhaps show that it wasn’t such a happy time. He spent six months of the last year of his life writing a manuscript full of vitriol, saying things that he’d never said about anyone in print before. It really is 400 pages of bile.” — historian Laura Trombley.

I reckon he’d have been better getting it off his chest earlier — telling the truth (as he saw it) as he went along.
What do you think?