“To us, our house…had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see us with; and approvals and solicitudes and deep sympathies; it was of us, and we were in its confidence and lived in its grace and in the peace of its benediction.” ˗ Mark Twain

Mark Twain was a singular observer of the human condition and citizen of the world. At the same time, he was quintessentially American and he shaped the world’s view of our country and its citizens. The house he built and lived in with his family in Hartford truly has a “heart & soul” and reflects Twain’s distinctive personality. It represents both a foundation for and window into his most prolific period as a writer, a time when he developed into an American cultural icon. Even today, visitors cannot enter it unmoved. For more than 44y ears the Mark Twain House has been a leading cultural center and visitor destination in Hartford, in collaboration with other regional cultural institutions, philanthropic organizations, and corporations. Now The Mark Twain House & Museum is a center for programs, exhibitions, lectures, and facilitated discussions about literature, current events, and society brought to contemporary audiences, inspired by Twain’s words and writings.