Grant felt loyalty towards the Century Company because of the work he had done with the company while writing his articles on the Civil War battles. Grant was still resistant to the advice when Fred suggested that the contract be set aside while they investigated the facts behind Twain’s advice. For example, the American Publishing Company had published many of Twain’s books, and the company would be able to bring in more profit than The Century Company. Twain tried to convince Grant that he should investigate a different publisher. He believed it would be dishonorable to back out after giving his word. Grant was reluctant to back out of the contract that he and the publishers had negotiated. Twain tried to convince Grant that he could give him a better deal, which would provide Grant with more money. Twain reviewed the contract and believed that the ten percent royalty being offered was too low and even exploitative. Grant was ready to pick up his pen and sign the contract when Twain asked if he could read it before any signature was made. Grant, were reading over The Century Company’s contract that needed to be signed before publication. When Twain arrived at his home on 66 th Street, Grant and his eldest son, Frederick T. Twain wasted little time making his way to New York City to convince Grant that he could give him a better deal. He believed he could offer Grant a better deal. When Twain heard about the offer, he was appalled by how little money Grant would get from the sales of the book. Under this original plan, The Century Company was willing to give Grant ten percent of all sales after the book was finished. Grant was writing articles about the many battles he had fought during the Civil War and hoped to expand on these articles and form a memoir of his military career. Grant had previously agreed to allow a publishing company to print the book but had not yet signed a final contract. Twain was not even involved with the project when he began writing. The original hand-written manuscript still survives and is entirely penned with Grant’s own handwriting.
My sense is that people read Grant’s writing, hear about the association with Twain and assume that explains it.” However, the claim is untrue.
In a February 2012 article for The Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates explained the myth by stating that, “a lot of really intelligent people are under the impression that Grant’s lucid prose are really the result of Mark Twain’s editing hand. Grant did not entirely write his own memoirs. Rumors have persisted for many years that Ulysses S.
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