Clara Clemens

Clara Clemens (June 8, 1874 – November 19, 1962) was a concert singer and author, and the daughter of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, and Olivia Langdon Clemens. She was the only one of Twain's three daughters to survive him.

Clara Clemens studied music in Europe and debuted as a contralto in Florence in 1906. She went on to perform professionally for several years, although her career was not without criticism.

After her father's death in 1910, Clara became increasingly involved in managing his literary legacy. She edited and published some of his previously unpublished works.

Clara Clemens was married twice. Her first marriage was to Ossip Gabrilowitsch, a Russian pianist and conductor, in 1909. They had one child, Nina Gabrilowitsch, who was Twain's only grandchild. Gabrilowitsch died in 1936. Her second marriage was to Jacques Samossoud, a Russian musician, in 1944.

Clara Clemens authored several books, including biographies of her parents: My Father, Mark Twain (1931) and Awake to a Perfect Day (1956), a biography of her mother, Olivia Langdon Clemens. She also wrote about Christian Science. She became a convert to Christian Science later in life and wrote Mark Twain as I Knew Him (1947), which presented a perspective influenced by her religious beliefs, leading to some controversy regarding its portrayal of her father.

Clara Clemens died in 1962 in California. She is a significant figure in American literary history, not only as Mark Twain's daughter but also as an author and performer in her own right.