A Double-Barreled Detective Story
Written by Mark Twain
Narrated by Thomas Becker
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Mark Twain
Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, left school at age 12. His career encompassed such varied occupations as printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot, journalist, travel writer, and publisher, which furnished him with a wide knowledge of humanity and the perfect grasp of local customs and speech manifested in his writing. It wasn't until The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), that he was recognized by the literary establishment as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce. Toward the end of his life, plagued by personal tragedy and financial failure, Twain grew more and more cynical and pessimistic. Though his fame continued to widen--Yale and Oxford awarded him honorary degrees--he spent his last years in gloom and desperation, but he lives on in American letters as "the Lincoln of our literature."
More audiobooks from Mark Twain
A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to A Double-Barreled Detective Story
Related audiobooks
The Californian's Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Case of Mr Foggatt Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Thirty-nine Steps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once on a Time (Dramatic Reading) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Keys to Baldpate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seven Poor Travellers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExtraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar (version 3) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTom Sawyer, Detective Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5B. J. Harrison Reads The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTobermory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seeing Red Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Short Story Collection Vol. 063 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lady with the Hatchet, the Eight Strokes of the Clock, the Adventures of Arsène Lupin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEight Strokes of the Clock (Version 2) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pirates of Penzance: The Audiobook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElsie in New York and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arsene Lupin in Prison, the Adventures of Arsene Lupin the Gentleman Burglar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsB. J. Harrison Reads The Tell-Tale Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEve's Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Confessions of Arsene Lupin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings813 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hollow Needle: Further Adventures of Arsène Lupin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man with the Twisted Lip Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Blonde Lady Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Fairy-Tale Wedding Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Short Story Collection: Spooky, Mysterious Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (version 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Humor & Satire For You
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tidy the F*ck Up: The American Art of Organizing Your Sh*t Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Big Swiss: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spoiler Alert: You're Gonna Die: Unveiling Death One Question at a Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love and Other Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sh*t My Dad Says Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yes Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NPR Funniest Driveway Moments: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Soulmate Equation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious People: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Can't Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We’re All in This Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Librarianist: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Really Good, Actually: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How to Stay Married Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel by Bonnie Garmus: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nothing to See Here Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Jane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Happy People Are Annoying Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harold Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Is this Anything? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Wishes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for A Double-Barreled Detective Story
7 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5"Uncle Sherlock! The mean luck of it!—that he should come just when...." He dropped into a reverie, and presently said to himself: "But what's the use of being afraid of him? Anybody that knows him the way I do knows he can't detect a crime except where he plans it all out beforehand and arranges the clues and hires some fellow to commit it according to instructions.... Now there ain't going to be any clues this time—so, what show has he got? None at all.This novella contains two linked revenge stories. In the first, Archie Stillman acts as is mother's bloodhound, hunting down the father he never knew and harrying him from town to town and across the world. The second story takes place in a mining camp where Archie and Sherlock Holmes vie to discover the murderer of an unpopular miner. I don't think Mark Twain can have been a fan of Holmes, as his portrayal of him is uncomplimentary in the extreme and he does not seem to be the same man as in Conan Doyle's stories.The first part is quite depressing and although the second has much more humour in it, I don't think I would choose to re-read this book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not sure what to say about this one. I can't say I'm particularly well read in Mark Twain's works, but I've read enough that I expected a level of satiric humor that I didn't immediately find. In fact, the story started out rather dark, tragic and confronting. About 10% of the way through, a hint of absurdity, but still dark. It's not until midway through Part II of the story that it started to really feel like something written by Twain, and mind you, I've still not seen a hint of Sherlock Holmes. I was starting to feel robbed. It's also at this point that it sort of feels like Twain lost the reigns of the story; it scatters all over the place with suddenly changing POVs and focus. Not so scattered, though, that it wasn't apparent where Twain was going, the set-up for the twist of irony. Then, finally, Sherlock Holmes enters the scene. Twain is known for his scathing satire, so it's no surprise that Holmes does not come out looking like the paragon he is, but at the same time, Twain is skewering everyone else too, and somehow it makes it easier to sit back and laugh at the absurdity of it all. Even though the plot had lost most of its focus, it was still the most enjoyable part of the story for me. I'm glad I discovered this book and story - I thoroughly enjoyed it - but it's clear why it's not a well-known work of Twain's. It's worth reading for Holmes fans for the sheer novelty, if nothing else, and I adore my copy. But for those without the sentimental streak for Holmes, it's best experienced via Gutenberg or an anthology of Twain's work.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fun, silly. Not Mark Twain's best, but very enjoyable.