A Horse's Tale

{{Short description|1906 novel by Mark Twain}} {{No plot|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox book | name = A Horse's Tale | image = Image:Twainhorse.jpg | caption = First edition | author = [[Mark Twain]] | illustrator = [[Lucius Wolcott Hitchcock]] | country = United States | language = English | publisher = [[Harper & Brothers]] | release_date = 1907 | media_type = Print (hardback) | pages = 153<ref>[[:File:1906. A Horse's Tale.djvu|Facsimile of the first edition]]</ref> | oclc = 262628 }}

'''''A Horse's Tale''''' is a 1907 novel written by American author [[Mark Twain]] (Samuel Clemens), written partially in the voice of Soldier Boy, who is [[Buffalo Bill]]'s favorite horse, at a fictional frontier outpost with the U.S. [[7th Cavalry Regiment|7th Cavalry]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Twain |first=Mark |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1086 |title=A Horse's Tale |date=1997-10-01 |language=English}}</ref>

==Background== ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' originally published the story in two installments in August and September 1906.<ref name="critiques"/> Clemens wrote the story after receiving a request from actress [[Minnie Maddern Fiske]] to assist in her drive against [[bullfighting]].<ref name="critiques"/> ''Harper's'' published the story as a 153-page book in October 1907.<ref name="critiques"/>

Clemens's daughter [[Susy Clemens]], who died in 1896 at age 24 of spinal meningitis, is understood to be the inspiration for lead character Cathy Alison.<ref name="critiques">Rasmussen, R. Kent (2007). ''Critical Companion to Mark Twain: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work'', 2nd ed. [[Facts on File]]. pp. 169–74. {{ISBN|978-0816053988}}.</ref><ref name="susy1">Pilkington, Ed (April 21, 2010). "[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/apr/21/mark-twain-manuscript-daughter-susy Mark Twain manuscript reveals author's pain at losing his daughter]". ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref> When Clemens provided the story to ''Harper's'', he included a photograph of Susy for the illustrator to use for Cathy.<ref name="critiques"/>

==See also== * [[Mark Twain bibliography]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Gutenberg|no=1086|name=A Horse's Tale}} * {{Librivox book | title=A Horse's Tale | author=Mark Twain}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horse's Tale, A}} [[Category:1907 American novels]] [[Category:1907 English-language novels]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Buffalo Bill]] [[Category:Harper & Brothers books]] [[Category:Novels about horses]] [[Category:Novels by Mark Twain]] [[Category:Works originally published in Harper's Magazine]]