Background
Lyon was born in Tarrytown, New York, to a well-off family. Her father"s early death plunged the family into poverty, and Lyon became a governess.
Lyon was born in Tarrytown, New York, to a well-off family. Her father"s early death plunged the family into poverty, and Lyon became a governess.
While in this position, she gained significant influence over Twain"s personal and business affairs Twain fired her in 1909 for reasons that remain in dispute. She became acquainted with Twain in the 1890s and often played whist with him.
After Olivia"s death in 1904, Lyon moved into Twain"s house and assisted him with his autobiography.
She also disbursed allowances to Twain"s daughters Clara and Jean. Lyon helped to supervise the construction of Stormfield, Twain"s estate in Redding, Connecticut, and managed the property afterwards.
Twain bought Lyon a house, called The Lobster Pot, near Stormfield to keep her close by. Twain"s trust in Lyon caused him to grant her a power of attorney in 1907.
At about this time, Twain allegedly began to suspect Lyon of using her position to help herself to his money, particularly for remodeling her house.
He also alleged that Lyon was scheming to marry him. Twain fired Lyon in April 1909 and forced her to return the property, called The Lobster Pot, that he had given her. Twain was bitter over the affair.
In a letter he denounced Lyon as "a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded & salacious slut pining for seduction." He wrote a 429-page manuscript outlining his complaints against Lyon and Ashcroft, with the intention of publishing it if Lyon were to go public with details of the relationship.
She seldom spoke of her years with Twain, but she met regularly with Hal Holbrook, who was developing his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight. Lyon died of a heart attack in her Greenwich Village apartment on December 4, 1958, two weeks before her 95th birthday.
Quotations: "a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded & salacious slut pining for seduction.".
