Witty, entertaining, and absorbing, the novel also includes a literary first--the use of fingerprinting to solve a crime.A brilliantly conceived literary gem, Pudd'nhead Wilson was Twain's last novel abotit the antebellum South; and despite its frequently injections of humor.

Switched at birth by a young slave woman attempting to protect her infant son from the horrors of slavery, a light-skinned infant changes places with the master's white son. This simple premise is the basis of Pudd'nhead Wilson, a compelling drama that contains all the elements of a classic 19th-century mystery: reversed identities, a ghastly crime,an eccentric detective, and a tense courtroom scene.

First published in 1894, Twain's novel bristles with suspense. David (Pudd'nhead) Wilson, a wise but unorthodox lawyer who collects people's fingerprints as a hobby, wins back the respect of his townspeople when he solves a local murder in which two foreigners are falsely accused and reveals the identity of the true killer. Witty, entertaining, and absorbing, the novel also includes a literary first--the use of fingerprinting to solve a crime.

A brilliantly conceived literary gem, Pudd'nhead Wilson was Twain's last novel abotit the antebellum South; and despite its frequently injections of humor, it fiercely condemned a racially prejudiced society that condoned the institution of slavery.

A Whisper to the Reader

I. Pudd'nhead Wins His Name

II. Driscoll Spares His Slaves

III. Roxy Plays a Shrewd Trick

IV. The Ways of the Changelings

V. The Twins Thrill Dawson's Landing

VI. Swimming in Glory

VII. The Unknown Nymph

VIII. Marse Tom Tramples His Chance

IX. Tom Practises Sycophancy

X. The Nymph Revealed

XI. Pudd'nhead's Startling Discovery

XII. The Shame of Judge Driscoll

XIII. Tom Stares at Ruin

XIV. Roxana Insists Upon Reform

XV. The Robber Robbed

XVI. Sold Down the River

XVII. The Judge Utters Dire Prophecy

XVIII. Roxana Commands

XIX. The Prophecy Realized

XX. The Murderer Chuckles

XXI.Doom