New director taking over at Conn. Mark Twain House

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A new executive director will be taking over the reins of the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, and she's no stranger to the iconic writer.

Cindy Lovell begins her new job Monday at Twain's former home on Farmington Avenue, after having served in the same position at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Mo., since 2008. She has also taught college courses on Twain.

Twain grew up in Hannibal and based some of his most famous works on the town, the Mississippi River and the people he knew in the northeast Missouri community.

He lived at the Hartford home for 17 years and wrote some of his most famous books there, including "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."