Twain wrote this version between November 1897 and September 1900. "Eseldorf" is German for "Assville" or "Donkeytown".

    . . . Although mostly forgotten or ignored after the middle of the 20th century.

    All characters can be traced back to London and his friends and family. London called the novel "all sex from start to finish--in which no sexual adventure is actually achieved or comes within a million miles of being achieved, and in which, nevertheless, is all the guts of sex...."