I feel that this Twain novel is under-read. It has some structural problems, but it also possesses humor and offers keen insights into human nature. The exploration of the nature of race is particularly interesting, especially given the historical contexts in which the novel was both written (post-Civil War) and set (antebellum). Recommended!

Reserved for the General Literature VBB.

Description from Amazon: "Switched at birth by a young slave woman attempting to protect her 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 fingerprints as a hobby, wins back the respect of his townspeople when he solves a local murder in which two foreigners are falsely accused. Witty and absorbing, this novel features a literary first — the use of fingerprinting to solve a crime. This gem was Twain's last novel about the antebellum South; and despite its frequent injections of humor, it offers a fierce condemnation of racial prejudice and a society that condoned slavery."

This one is off to booklady331, who selected it from the General Literature VBB. Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing this book with me. I have read a number of Twain's books, but I don't remember hearing of this one.

A quick, enjoyable read. Glad I got to read a Twain book that I hadn't read yet.

Reserved for ABC VBB. Trust it finds a new reader.

Enjoy! KTM RABCK to perryfran for the Sapphire (blue cover) release challenge 2016

Received in the mail yesterday. I enjoy reading Twain and this is one I haven't read. Thanks!

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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.