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Beloved Mark Twain
“You can go to heaven if you want. I’d rather stay in Bermuda.” - Mark Twain
 Samuel Langhorne Clemens — who renamed himself Mark Twain after piloting steamboats on the Mississippi River — did much to make Bermuda what it is today. The celebrated writer with the unruly red hair, droopy moustache, distinctive gait and Southern accent made several trips here between 1867 and 1910, and he advised his many readers to do the same. Twain achieved worldwide fame as an author, lecturer and satirist, writing such classics as Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Born Nov. 30, 1835, young Samuel grew up impoverished in the river town of Hannibal, Mo., began writing seriously at 12, and developed his unique voice, style and wit. Embarking on his own adventures, he travelled the world and arrived in Bermuda in November 1867. He soon became the islands’ most famous visitor, and he introduced his fellow Americans to the islands — a touchy subject after the U.S. Civil War, in which many Bermudians supported the Confederacy.
During Twain’s second visit here in 1877, he observed that blacks enjoyed basic rights still lacking in his homeland, despite the Civil War, and he wrote a series of articles published by the Atlantic Monthly in 1877–78.
During his later years (after financial woes and the deaths of his beloved wife and daughter), he regarded Bermuda as his second home. Here he was inspired to write, while promoting Bermuda tourism and raising funds for the Bermuda Cottage Hospital, now called King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
Through magazine articles he painted a portrait of Bermuda that elevated travel writing to an art form, concentrating on the fascinating people here, rather than just the beautiful places. He enjoyed the black culture here as he could not have done in the United States.
On several visits, he was a guest at the Flatt’s Village home of Charles Maxwell Allan, then assistant consul general of the United States. But Twain spent most of his time at Bay House, which faces Hamilton Harbour at 4 Old Slip Lane, a tranquil road in Pembroke.
For drinks and meals, he was a regular at the Hamilton Princess Hotel. He often walked from Bay House to the Tucker Sister’s Tea Room at Barr’s Bay Park.
After suffering a heart attack, he left the islands for the last time in early April 1910, giving away his books to his hosts at Bay House. The great Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910, at home in Redding, Conn., at the age of 75. Bermudians received the sad news the next day — from the very same telegraph office he had used so frequently to make Bermuda famous.
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Have a fun-filled vacation with a cycle from Oleander. If you can ride a bicycle, you can easily ride an Oleander scooter. See all of Bermuda...reserve one today!
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Relax, enjoy, save and see Bermuda by bus. A blue or pink pole indicates bus stops. If the pole is topped with blue, the bus travels from Hamilton; if the pole is topped pink, the route is toward Hamilton.
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