Tells of Marriage of Two Women : ‘Unusable’ Twain Story Published for First Time

COLUMBIA, Mo. — An unfinished Mark Twain story about a marriage between two women was published for the first time Friday in the Missouri Review, where readers may see an unknown side of the author.

“How Nancy Jackson Married Kate Wilson” gives the reader “a glimpse of a side of Mark Twain still imperfectly fathomed,” said Robert S. Sattelmeyer, a University of Missouri-Columbia professor who persuaded conservators of Twain’s estate to allow the story to be published.

In a foreword to the story, Sattelmeyer said the work was classified as “not usable” by Twain’s first literary executor, Albert B. Paine.

Kept Out of Collection

Paine, who was in charge of publishing some of Twain’s work posthumously, decided against using the 35-page manuscript in that collection of Twain pieces. But the “not usable” classification also may have referred to the subject matter, which deals with murder, deceit and cross-dressing.

“Perhaps it (subject matter) was rather more indelicate than the official caretaker of Mark Twain’s public image might have wished,” Sattelmeyer said.

The story deals with a woman, Nancy Jackson, who must leave town after committing a murder. Various circumstances force her to live the rest of her life disguised as a man.

The rest of the story deals with how Jackson eventually is forced into a marriage with a woman and what becomes of the marriage.

‘Paints a Bleak Picture’

“The general public does not ordinarily associate this type of story with Twain,” Sattelmeyer said. “But it is (in keeping with) his later writings. He paints a bleak picture of humans, who are manipulative, unkind and betray each other.”

The manuscript is housed with the rest of Twain’s literary works in the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. It is estimated to have been written between 1900 and 1903.

The Missouri Review is published three times a year and is run by a mostly volunteer staff at the university’s English department.