Now in Hertford, capital of Connecticut, and home to two icons of American literature. They were neighbours in the Nook Farm area of the city, at the end of the 19th Century, and both of their houses been lovingly preserved as a monument to their work.

The first is Harriet Beecher Stowe whose book Uncle Tom's Cabin, focused American citizens on the horrors of slavery, by depicting families ripped apart, as children were sold from their mothers. It was the best selling novel of the 19th century and Abraham Lincoln reportedly credited Beecher Stowe with starting events that led to the Civil War and ultimately to the end of slavery.

A neighbour was a generation younger, and when he moved to Connecticut he had not yet attained the worldwide fame he would later enjoy. Samuel Clements, known to the world as Mark Twain, would you write most of his most acclaimed works in the house in Hartford including the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. His house is a marvellous Gothic monstrosity where he lived for over 20 years, until bad investments forced him to seek a cheaper life in Europe.