The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

by Mark Twain

Overview

Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894) is a novel by American writer Mark Twain. Its central intrigue revolves around two boys-one, born into slavery, with 1/32 black ancestry; the other, white, born to be the master of the house. The two boys, who look similar, are switched at infancy. Each grows into the other's social role. The story was serialized in The Century Magazine (1893-4), before being published as a novel in 1894. The setting is the fictional Missouri frontier town of Dawson's Landing on the banks of the Mississippi River in the first half of the 19th century. David Wilson, a young lawyer, moves to town, and a clever remark of his is misunderstood, which causes locals to brand him a "pudd'nhead" (nitwit). His hobby of collecting fingerprints does not raise his standing in the eyes of the townsfolk, who consider him to be eccentric and do not frequent his law practice. "Pudd'nhead" Wilson is left in the background as the focus shifts to the slave Roxy, her son, and the family they serve. Roxy is one-sixteenth black and majority white, and her son Valet de Chambre (referred to as "Chambers") is 1/32 black. Roxy is principally charged with caring for her inattentive master's infant son Tom Driscoll, who is the same age as her own son. After fellow slaves are caught stealing and are nearly sold "down the river" to a master in the Deep South, Roxy fears for her son and herself. She considers killing her boy and herself, but decides to switch Chambers and Tom in their cribs to give her son a life of freedom and privilege. The narrative moves forward two decades. Tom Driscoll (formerly Valet de Chambre), has been raised to believe that he is white and has become a spoiled aristocrat. He is a selfish and dissolute young man. Tom's father has died and granted Roxy her freedom in his will. She worked for a time on river boats, and saved money for her retirement. When she finally is able to retire, she discovers that her bank has failed and all of her savings are gone.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780464077688
Publisher:	Blurb
Publication date:	07/17/2019
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

Mark Twain wurde am 30.11.1835 in Florida (Missouri) geboren. Sein eigentlicher Name ist Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Der Vater starb 1847 und Twain mußte im Alter von zwölf Jahren die Schule abbrechen und begann eine Lehre als Schriftsetzer. Mit 17 Jahren ging er nach New York, dann nach Philadelphia, wo er die ersten Reiseskizzen schrieb. Von 1857 bis 1860 war er Lotse auf dem Mississippi, nahm am Sezessionskrieg auf der Seite der Konföderierten teil und war 1861 Silbersucher in Nevada. 1864 lebte er in San Francisco, 1866 als Reporter auf Hawaii und 1867 als Reisender in Europa und Palästina. Er gründete einen Verlag, mußte aber 1894 Konkurs anmelden und ging auf Weltreise, um mit Vorträgen seine Schulden abzutragen. Mark Twain starb am 21.04.1910 in Redding (Connecticut).

Date of Birth:

November 30, 1835

Date of Death:

April 21, 1910

Place of Birth:

Florida, Missouri

Place of Death:

Redding, Connecticut

Editorial Reviews

Twain’s 1894 novel of two nearly identical brothers raised on opposite sides of the race line (one as white, one as black) isn’t nearly as strong as his more famous works. The author’s political ambitions--critiquing American attitudes on race and class--are too nakedly displayed, and the plot creaks like an old melodrama. But it’s still Mark Twain, and that means more wit than half a dozen other authors, delivered in shrewd, folksy language. And it’s possible that Michael Prichard’s delivery works better than reading it on the printed page. Prichard shifts dialect to match Twain’s acute ear for regional differences, and he brings a widely diverse cast of characters vividly to life. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

AUG/SEP 03 - AudioFile