The Mark Twain House & Museum began its The Trouble Begins lecture series in 2010. The title of the lecture series comes from a handbill advertising Mark Twain’s October 2, 1866, lecture presented at Maguire’s Academy of Music in San Francisco which stated “Doors open at 7 o’clock. The Trouble to begin at 8 o’clock.”
The Trouble Begins lecture series is held each spring and fall with presentations featuring distinguished scholars who discuss elements of the life, work, and era of Mark Twain and use them to explore wider themes in the humanities and both historical and current issues.
From 2010-19 the Mark Twain House welcomed 64 scholars to our Lincoln Financial Auditorium stage. In 2020, thanks to a CT Humanities grant, The Trouble Begins series pivoted to a virtual program.
Today, The Trouble Begins uses in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats to keep these presentations accessible to all and allow Twainiacs from all over the world to come together – whether in-person or virtually – to discuss all things Twain, share their passions, and have a bit of fun.
For more information about this series or to see past lectures click here.