Pudd’nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain | Literature

Widely acknowledged as the greatest of his later works, this story of switched babies and slavery is Twain's darkest vision of race in America. It began life as a slapstick comedy about Siamese twins, but as he wrote, something deepened. "The tale kept spreading along, and spreading along, and other people got to intruding themselves and taking up more and more time with their talk and their affairs.

It changed from a farce to a tragedy while I was going along with it," Twain wrote in his frank afternote to the novel. In the end, the voice that comes to dominate the tale is Roxana's, a light-skinned slave who switches her infant son with her master's son to keep him from being sold down the river.

Roxana, Twain's most complex and fully-realized adult female character, is a compelling and memorable tragic heroine, trapped with her son by the brutal system of slavery and by their own inescapable racial identities. At his best, Twain is the most uniquely American of writers, and it is inevitable that his best work revolves around the issues of race and of slavery embedded in the American psyche. The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson is a dark and powerful novel of race in America, written by the American master.

About the author: Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced", and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature".

This book truly appears to be in beautiful vintage condition, with no major damages. The words and images are printed cleanly on the page making this the reading experience quite enjoyable 📚

The perfect gift for our bookworms out there!

Vintage/Antique Items:
Please note that most vintage/antique items may have minor wear due to their age and being loved, which we believe only adds to the charm and patina of these pieces. Because the items sold in our shop are vintage or antique, there are often small condition issues, which we do our best to accurately disclose and photograph in the listings.

While we try very hard to describe our items accurately, it is possible that the eye of a true collector might see something that we do not. If you are particular about your vintage items, please ask questions before you buy. We really want you to be happy with your item and have confidence in your purchase.