- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Books; Reissue edition (31 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553211587
- ISBN-13: 978-0553211580
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 0.9 x 17.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,273,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson [with Biographical Intro...
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Product Description
Product Description
At the beginning of Pudd'nhead Wilson a young slave woman, fearing for her infant's son's life, exchanges her light-skinned child with her master's. From this rather simple premise Mark Twain fashioned one of his most entertaining, funny, yet biting novels. On its surface, Pudd'nhead Wilson possesses all the elements of an engrossing nineteenth-century mystery: reversed identities, a horrible crime, an eccentric detective, a suspenseful courtroom drama, and a surprising, unusual solution. Yet it is not a mystery novel. Seething with the undercurrents of antebellum southern culture, the book is a savage indictment in which the real criminal is society, and racial prejudice and slavery are the crimes. Written in 1894, Pudd'nhead Wilson glistens with characteristic Twain humor, with suspense, and with pointed irony: a gem among the author's later works.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top notch entertainment,
By Madly Bobbington-Blythe "MadBob" (Cardiff) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pudd'Nhead Wilson (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
Having claim to be the first forensic detective novel, Twain has produced what could be considered as a classic 19th century mystery novel; a switch at birth, a murder, suspicious foreigners and a court case. However, our hero, David "Pudd'nhead" Wilson, seeking to redeem himself in the eyes of the community, uses a pioneering form of fingerprinting to solve the mystery. Typically witty, it also talks openly of the evils of slavery.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Deceiving Appearances and Labels Have Profound Consequences!,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Pudd'nhead Wilson (Bantam Classics) (Paperback)
Do others ever misjudge you? Did you, as a result, ever have a nickname you didn't like? Did you appreciate that experience? How did you overcome it? What if you had been switched in the baby nursery at the hospital for another child? How might your life have been different? These are the kinds of thoughts that will occur to you as you read Pudd'nhead Wilson. I was attracted to the story after reading about its genesis in the new illustrated biography of Mark Twain. Pudd'nhead Wilson is a tragic story about the consequences of two children being switched at birth in the slave-holding society of the American South. Those who admire the eloquent portrayal of common humanity among African-Americans and whites in Huckleberry Finn will find more examples of this point to delight them in Pudd'nhead Wilson. Pudd'nhead Wilson was a novel that gave Mark Twain a great many problems. The book started as a short story about Italian Siamese twins with a farcical character, as the drunken twin caused the Prohibitionist one to get into trouble with his woolly headed sweetheart. As Twain turned the story into a novel, the most important characters began to disappear in favor of new characters. Stymied, Twain realized that he had written two stories in one novel. He then excised the original of the two stories in favor of the tragedy, while leaving many satirical and ironic characteristics. Part of this switch no doubt related to Twain's growing pessimism as he grew older and to the personal tragedies and financial difficulties dogged his efforts and life. Perhaps it is this deep plot difficulty that caused Twain to leave the novel with two rather large flaws, which vastly reduce its effectiveness. I'm sure you'll spot them, so I won't mention the problems further. Pudd'nhead Wilson has many brilliant sections that strikingly portray how the concepts and realities of slavery corrupted both African-Americans and slave-holders. But the story is much broader than that. Pudd'nhead (a derogatory term somewhat like "featherhead") Wilson is thought to be a fool by the townspeople because of something he said about a dog when he first came to town. Because of that perception, his legal career is delayed by 20 years . . . even though he is actually quite bright. The story in places reminds me of Shakespeare's many comedies and tragedies about misperceptions being harmful to all concerned. Although you will not think this is one of Mark Twain's best books, it is one that will encourage you to have many valuable thoughts about questioning labels and assumptions that we apply to one another. For example, if someone is not very quick to grasp certain widely-accepted points, we may feel the person is stupid. The person may actually be able to grasp many nuances that make the situation ambiguous, and be the opposite of stupid. Or someone who is slow in one way may be a positive genius in other ways. Yet a label may be attached that is the opposite. Keep an open mind, and observe vastly more about what is going on . . . and be able to create vastly better results!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
He'd sell his own mother,
By
This review is from: Pudd'Nhead Wilson (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
Set in Missouri before the Civil War when slavery was a part of daily life. This is a 'swapping' tale of two near identical babies concentrating on the life of the one who would have been classed as black because he was 'thirty one parts white and only one part nigger'. If you've read The Prince and the Pauper or seen the film Trading Places then you'll get the general idea.
This has a very folksy feel,homespun but with a dark side. It is a very busy novel with very little fat. My usual gripe about novels is that they were in need of some pruning but oddly this book felt as though it may have benefitted from being longer! Puddnhead is a lawyer sidelined as stupid for a 'kill half a dog' comment early in life but really seems a cipher for the introduction of fingerprinting. Twain's wit sparkles, 'The Society of Free-Thinkers has been in existence four years and already has two members'. However the slave dialogue may be authentic but is near unintelligible to a UK ear. Wilson's 'Calendar' sayings preface each chapter and they are good fun. Are these the origins of the phrases 'to sell your own mother', 'sold down the river' and 'Americans..don't do irony'? Despite the wit this is quite a grim story. On reflection this book deserves a longer review than is possible here. It's flawed ,hence three stars, but have a look if you want a shortish intro to Mark Twain and a feel for the routine but corrosive pre-War Deep South.
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