Rewriting Twain

Critics and admirers alike are reacting to a publisher’s new edition of Mark Twain’s New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New South Publishers of Alabama has put out an edition of the book with the N word excised and the word “slave” put in its place. What would Mr. Twain have thought? Well, he thought pretty highly of his right to protect his own work. Read this New York Times article from December 12, 1906, in which he explains his plan to beat those who wanted to read and/or republish his work for free, after the copyright had expired.