Mark Twain in the Garden of Eden

Mark Twain’s Extracts from Adam’s Diary, and its sequel, Eve’s Diary are comic sketches written as diary entries from the perspective of the original man and woman. First appearing in the 1893 Buffalo-based publication, The Niagara Book as “The Earliest Authentic Mention of Niagara Falls,” Adam’s diary begins with Eve’s arrival in Eden, which is located around the Falls, and he is puzzled over this “new creature with the long hair” who talks incessantly and eats too much fruit. In Eve’s Diary, published only a year after the death of Twain’s beloved wife, the author creates a loving tribute to Olivia Clemens (Livy) in the gentle and innocent Eve. On display are the first publications and various incarnations of Twain’s Adamic works.