CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
With Notes Containing Corrections to Date. Illustrated. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1907. Original red cloth with monogram device in gilt.
First Edition, first issue, of one of Twain's more controversial works, in which he takes to task Mary Baker Eddy and her sect. The genesis of Twain's attacks on Christian Science was the fact that his eldest daughter Susy had shown an interest in "mind cures" and Christian Science, only to die of meningitis at age 24 in 1896. Ironically, his second daughter Clara, who suffered from significant health and nervous issues, had the opposite response -- becoming a faithful member of the Church and even writing books about her positive experience.
This first issue has all three points cited by Blanck: (1) the frontispiece is dated 1906; (2) the copyright page has a list of 17+6 works (i.e. does not include this title); and (3) the p. iii list of illustrations consists of eight lines including the heading. This is a near-fine copy, with minor fading of the spine but with scarcely any wear or soil. Blanck 3497; McBride p. 228. Item #15897
Price: $325.00