Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which journey provided the material for Mark Twainâs The Innocents Abroad?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Mark Twain
American humorist and novelist Mark Twain, c. 1907.
The Innocents Abroad was based on Mark Twainâs 1867 steamship voyage to Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land.12
Twain undertook this transatlantic excursion while serving as a traveling correspondent for the San Francisco Alta California and various New York newspapers. The Alta funded his fare in exchange for approximately 50 letters documenting his experiences, which he later compiled and adapted into the successful travel narrative published in 1869.31