Albert Bigelow Paine

Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1861, Albert Bigelow Paine became an American author and biographer whose career stretched across fiction, humor, verse, travel writing, and books for younger readers. Before he was widely known as a writer, he worked as a photographer, and that practical, observant side shows in the clear, accessible style of his prose.

Paine is most closely linked with Mark Twain. He spent years working with Twain and later served as his literary executor, giving him unusual access to Twain’s papers and personal history. That connection led to Mark Twain: A Biography in 1912, along with later edited volumes of Twain’s letters, autobiography, and notebooks, which played a major part in preserving Twain’s legacy for the public.

He also published his own popular books, including The Tent Dwellers, a lively outdoor adventure that remained well loved long after its first release. Paine died in 1937 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, but he remains an important figure for readers interested not only in his own writing, but in the story of how Mark Twain’s life was recorded and remembered.