Is it true that Mark Twain did not publish the memoirs of President Ulysses S. Grant?

The answer is no. It is a true fact that Mark Twain did publish the memoirs of President Ulysses S. Grant. President Grant first began compiling his memoirs in the mid-1880s, after he had written a series of popular articles about his Civil War experiences.

Grant was on the verge of signing a book deal with a magazine company when novelist Mark Twain swooped in and offered a much more lucrative contract with his newly formed publishing firm Charles L. Webster & Company. Grant took Twain up on his offer, and later finished his book just a few (5) days before succumbing to cancer in July 1885.

“The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant” hit stores late in the year 1885. Grant's book was immediately hailed by Twain and others as a literary masterpiece. It was also a massive bestseller. Only a year after the book was published, Mark Twain presented Grant’s widow Julia with a royalty check for a whopping $200,000. In the end, it is believed that Grant's widow received just about $450,000.