The Duplicating Imagination

The Duplicating Imagination, Volume 1, provides a scholarly examination of Mark Twain's posthumously published works. Author Maria Marotti utilizes contemporary literary theory, specifically semiotic and structuralist approaches, to analyze the experimental nature of these incomplete or abandoned texts. This work of literary criticism and interpretation shifts the focus away from biographical analysis toward a text-centered perspective.

The book is organized into four chapters covering burlesque, romance, myth, and fantasy and dream voyage. By applying these frameworks, Marotti argues that Twain experimented with modern and postmodern fiction elements. This study of American fiction and history and criticism connects Twain's roots in folklore and oral storytelling to his overall literary development. The Duplicating Imagination, Volume 1, establishes Twain as a bold experimenter in literary form within the realm of American humorous stories.