''Hellfire Hotchkiss'' is an

unfinished Unfinished may refer to: *Unfinished creative work, a work which a creator either chose not to finish or was prevented from finishing. Music * Symphony No. 8 (Schubert) "Unfinished" * ''Unfinished'' (album), 2011 album by American singer Jor ...

novel by Mark Twain. Twain completed three chapters of the novel in 1897, mostly while he was residing in

Weggis Weggis is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It forms part of the northern shore of Lake Lucerne. The official language is German. History In about 800 the monastery of Pfäfers acquired the court o ...

, Switzerland. These remained unpublished until 1967 when they were incorporated into ''Mark Twain's Satires and Burlesques''. As a result the book is not in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

. The novel is notable for the reversed

gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

s of its two main characters. The heroine, Rachel "Hellfire" Hotchkiss, is portrayed as a resourceful but temperamental

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

. Oscar "Thug" Carpenter, in contrast, is portrayed as a sensitive, effeminate, and unstable young man. In one section of the book, a villager remarks, "Pudd'nhead Wilson says Hellfire Hotchkiss is the only genuwyne male man in this town and Thug Carpenter's the only genuwyne female girl, if you leave out sex and just consider the business facts." According to some sources, the character of Oscar Carpenter was partially based on Twain's brother Orion Clemens, who was notoriously indecisive, while Rachel Hotchkiss may have been based on Twain's friend Lillie Hitchcock.

References

{{Authority control Novels by Mark Twain Unfinished novels Novels published posthumously 1967 American novels