In many ways this was a brilliant book and calculated to make no one happy. I can't imagine southerners in Twain's day enjoyed it and I can't imagine many people in today's politically correct society enjoying it either, yet it is witty, clever, and enjoyable.

The best thing about the book was how Twain shows just how silly prejudice can be. The main antagonist is just as racist as can be, and yet ends up finding out he is 1/32 negro and despair follows. Yet everyone else thinks he's entirely white and treat him as such. He's practically royalty. Whereas the 100% white boy is treated poorly, as a slave, because people think he's the one with 1/32 negro in him. Twain shows just how ridiculous it is, that something we assume is true shapes how we treat someone, not who that person actually is. And this is even true about how the person perceives himself!

I don't know where Twain was going at some points and this discussion could get touchy for many people. For example, the whole "nature vs nurture" argument. On the one hand we see the real Chambers taking up things like gambling and has a nasty streak, which some (including his own mother) might interpret as the "nigger" in him. Nature? On the other hand it is perfectly clear that he was coddled and spoiled from an infant and in the end, the real Driscoll can't adapt back into white society but prefers that of blacks. So is it nurture? Either way it's bound to make some people upset.

I liked how the reader was also led along the path of how detestable slavery actually is. We cheer for Roxy when she gains her freedom and we sorrow along with her when she is sold down the river. I think the feeling is so complete that in the end the worst punishment we can think of for the horrible, selfish murderer, is not death or lifelong imprisonment, but being sold as a slave himself. I would say that is a remarkably good job of making one hate the peculiar institution.

As a story, it was pretty fun. We pretty much know how it's all going to play out from the early foreshadowing but we don't know how we are going to get there. I really enjoyed the role fingerprinting played in the book, and if I remember right it was rather revolutionary since it was not even widely adopted in investigations at that point. I thought Twain's native dialects that he used were just about perfect and flowed naturally and easily when reading out loud. I didn't have any trouble with it. It's not particularly brilliant, thus it doesn't get five stars, but it's pretty close and quite an interesting and enjoyable book with one of the most detestable antagonists I've ever seen. It's well worth discussing.

Pudd’nhead Wilson is the second book by Mark Twain that I have read and is another which I am pleased to say that I have enjoyed. The titular character arrives with us named David Wilson, but before the first chapter is through he has gained this unfortunate nickname.

Whereas in other Twain tales the titular character tends to hog the centre stage, this story’s spotlight is shared in almost equal parts by three different characters. We see this story through the eyes and minds of one slave woman, a spoiled young heir to one of the FFVs (Founding Families of Virginia), and last but not least, our lead, the misunderstood intellectual of the town, the misnomered Pudd’nhead Wilson himself.

Through this trio we are allowed to look at life in this small and (at first glance) quaint town on the banks of the Mississippi in mid 1800s America, through three very different sets of eyes. With each pair of eyes we get insight into three very different sets of viewpoints, opinions, and morals. Through Twain’s clever writing and his astute observations and witticisms of attitudes, justices and injustices (depending on who you are and where you stand) we get amazing insight into life in this part of the world in this controversial era where the slave trade was a fact of life and mere formality.

In the interests of being balanced I must confess I felt certain parts of the story may lull and luxuriate for a little longer than perhaps necessary. My only other real criticism I would make is that some of the early storytelling and plot devices have become slightly more predictable given the scientific and forensic knowledge which is today commonplace. However I think it would be harsh to criticise Twain too harshly for his works being dated, given they were written roughly 150 years ago.

In the end Mark Twain has provided us with another thrilling story that not only excited me and intrigued me, but one that offered in classic Twain style, fantastic, insightful and thoughtful social commentary on a troubled episode in American history. We’re given insight and prompted to ask questions of ourselves about issues of morality which sadly remain as relevant today in 2020 as they did back in 1840. Crucially though I’m his inimitable style we are offered these insights and thought provoking issues, with a healthy helping of Mark Twain’s fantastic storytelling, rich character development, and dry wit.

This was another thoroughly enjoyable read and one that I would recommend to anyone.

Amusing and cautionary tale of deception which doubles as a fable on the evils of slavery. This is perhaps one of the first novels that outlines "white privilege". Written in the late 1800s, this novel is way ahead of its time. Twain was able to see the viability of fingerprints as a form of evidence long before it was adopted in real life. That ability to understand the long term impact of science in ways that change world views is extraordinary. The book is not without it's pitfalls. Slavery is painted in a genteel light. Rape and torture appear in the novel as bravado, actual pride and bullying. Gross abuse of power and position are seen as minor items, boys will be boys or a mean streak. Also, the actual experience of the "real" Tom Driscoll is glossed over and presented sparsely. Roxana is the only slave voice presented and she was freed at an early age from "benevolent" masters. A visually imperceptibly negro (1/16 negro) woman who demonstrates well above average intelligence. I will give Twain credit for writing an intelligent female character, but no credit for writing an intelligent negro character. Overall a very interesting book. The novel touches on some truly important themes that are still prevalent today. A worthy read.

This book is amazing straight up love it

This Mark Twain classic was written while he was in Europe bill collectors during his older years. It is a simple story about a light skinned slave woman, Roxy, who swaps her baby with her master’s baby in the hopes of having a happier life for both and to avoid being “sold down the river”. The book builds suspense to the moment of true revelations in the end of the book when there is a court room trial where Wilson defends the innocent men wrongly accused of murder.

Pudd’nhead Wilson came to town and lived for years in mockery after he made an unfortunate remark that followed him for years. He was extremely intelligent as he knew the law and other things including being an early finger printer. He proves his skills with modern detective techniques and with his careful data collection through the years was able to solve the switched identities and also the identity of the true murderer. He triumphed over the prejudice and narrow minds of the people and became quite popular and in demand.

I found it to be an engaging story.

Pudd'nhead Wilson   is an important read in that someone's perceived persona is different from who they actually are like we see with the namesake of the book, our own moral compasses as readers have to be adjusted in what my teacher who taught this book called a "morally compromised" universe, and people have to be worked to be understood past their sometimes less understandable actions like we see with Roxy as the book goes on.

I know some parts of this book haven't aged well from a modern standpoint, but I think this book certainly still raises important, thought-provoking questions and points and taps into how our history of oppressing and propertizing African-Americans runs and cuts so deep and painfully. Additionally, social roles definitely come to be a product of one’s environment and upbringing in this time period. There is no inherent way of being human and hate, especially for 'the other', is virtually always learned.

Identity is malleable and shifts and shapes as we progress on each of our individual journeys. New identities in Pudd'nhead Wilson   are being assumed, identities taken, identities changed by the influence of society. This book heavily gets into the nature versus nurture debate in that it is about two babies-one born a slave and the other born into a white, slave master family-who are switched. Their lives irrevocably changed forever with many questions sparked about the morality and ethics involved of changing someone's birth ordained, set life path.

There is much irony that fills out Twain's journey of uncovering how sometimes our need for survival, like we see with Roxy in this harrowing environment, trumps everything else. There is a rich kind of complexity to her character that can't be overlooked or forgotten as she is trying to face and comes to terms with the fact that everything is hopelessly stacked against her.

This book was Twain's way of more subtly addressing racism in hopes that more people would be able to listen if it wasn't a direct, abrasive putting down of the way the world and its system of treating people was set up and wrong on so many simple and also complex levels as that would've never overall, from a general consensus standpoint, been accepted to be published in those days.

This is a layered read that truly points to the horrific realities of what our nation has sadly, unforgivably been built upon and how life and its treatment of you can change in an instant if you're just given a new name and social standing, which truly points to how we are socially conditioned to treat people we perceive as less than or different from us.

“The true Southern watermelon is a boon apart, and not to be mentioned with commoner things. It is chief of this world's luxuries, king by grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took: we know it because she repented.”

“Statistics show that we lose more fools on this day than in all the other days of the year put together. This proves, by the number left in stock, that one Fourth of July per year is now inadequate, the country has grown so.”


The Tragedy of Puddn’head Wilson, I think, would have to be one of my favorite of Twain’s stories. I’ve heard it referred to before as black comedy, morbid satire. And it really is darkly humorous for me. Each chapter begins with a satirical quote from a calendar that the novel’s title character (an eccentric and misunderstood but deeply intelligent lawyer) wrote. And some of these quotes were just so witty and amusing for me! At the beginning of this review, I included a few of my favorites.

Another of the funniest and most memorable parts of Puddn’head Wilson for me occurred toward the beginning of the novel. Shortly after the title character moves into a new town, he encounters an unfriendly dog and declares that he would like to own half of this dog so that he could kill his half. The townspeople, unable to understand his humor, assume him serious. They deem him a brainless “Puddn’head” for not understanding that dividing the dog in half would kill him, anyway.

Despite the sharp humor, I had quite a hard time getting into Pudd’nhead Wilson, because I couldn’t really see where the narrative was going throughout a good 2/3 of the story—but rest assured that everything culminates in an absolute romp! The plot itself would be difficult to really describe in detail. But it begins with a slave woman (who is only one-sixteenth black) switching her son with her master’s son in the cradle. The two boys look so alike that no one can tell that she made the switch. The boy who should have been as a slave ends up being raised as the heir to a small fortune and vice versa.

Besides my struggles with narrative direction early on in the novel, I also didn’t really care for the formal writing style. I just found it a bit difficult to follow. I tried reading the print version but switched to the audio version because the writing wore on me.

So, yeah. I may have had my issues with Puddn’head Wilson early on, but the story won me over by the end. Anyone who likes black satire should seriously consider giving it a read!

Admire this great American author for broaching subjects that were certainly taboo in 1894...specifically racism in America. While, it wasn’t a great read, nor his best, the rating of four is certainly deserved for his bravado in writing about racism, in addition to his attempts to use authentic dialogue. He was a brilliant man. Years ahead of his time.

This was a bit hard to follow with how busy I was when I was reading it. I was listening to it rather than reading it, because I didn't find a copy I could keep on me all the time. Mark Twain's colloquial writing made it generally easier, but there is too much emphasis on the legal governmental system at the time. It's very good book if it is properly followed.

I loved the idea of the book, and especially the Author's Note at the end, as to how the book came to be written. I believe that I'll be reading and hopefully enjoying Twain's longer books to get a better idea as to how he writes. A slightly difficult follow, but a good read nonetheless.

Found myself laughing out loud as I read this one. Mark Twain's style of implementing his dry, cynical wit into his writings was magnificent. If you happen to pick up the version with the forward by T.S. Elliot, skip the forward. All he does is talk of why Twain sucked as well as all other American authors except his beloved Henry James. The book is hilarious and has some great, down home wisdom in it.

If you consider a man's “best” books to be the ones with the most consistent tone and the fewest flaws, then Tom Sawyer and The Prince and the Pauper are Mark Twain’s best works of fiction. If, however, “best” means the most interesting, the most resonant, even if the flaws are considerable and the results problematic, then that honor belongs to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” Huckleberry Finn, and—I would argue—The Tragedy of Puddin’head Wilson too.

The flaws and the problems of Twain’s fiction stem from the fact that the limited but parochial projects of Twain the humorist are often undermined and thwarted by the comprehensive soul of Twain the writer of fiction. In Connecticut Yankee, for example, as much as Twain admired Yankee know-how and despised the “jejune romanticism” of Sir Walter Scott, there was still a part of him that grudgingly admired Southern chivalry and was appalled by how Yankee know-how literally blew that chivalry apart on the great battlefields of the Civil War. For this reason, an essentially humorous book about a cunning modern inventor who outfoxes King Arthur’s finest ends with a bitter picture of modern warfare which considerably alters its tone. And the end of Huckleberry Finn exhibits similar problems in the comic—but essentially unfunny—return of Tom Sawyer to the narrative.

Puddin’head Wilson—a smaller but equally resonant work—is comparably problematic. It began as a novel with the title Those Extraordinary Twins, featuring a pair of conjoined twins based on a well known Italian pair, Giovanni and Giacomo Tocci. Twain wished to contrast their relatively happy life with the dark story of two little Missouri boys growing up in the small town of Dawson’s Landing in the years before the Civil War. The two boys look much alike, but Tom is to be the master of the house, and Chambers is to be his slave. The story of how they are made to switch places, together with tale of Puddin’head Wilson, a lawyer who eventually resolves the mystery—if not the resulting tragedy—through the newly emerging science of fingerprinting, is a fascinating one. Unfortunately, it completely overwhelmed the story of the Italian twins. Twain left them—unconjoined- to wander with little purpose through the story, a baffling vestige of his original comic conception.

Still, it is a powerful narrative, particularly in its account of how the institution of slavery molds the characters of both the false master and the false slave. Twain’s touch is not always sure—there are even moments when Twain appears to be saying that even a drop “black blood’ may be enough to taint the human character—but at its basis this is a profound tale of the fatal effect of nurture versus nature, and how two boys switched at birth can be changed irrevocably, particularly when one is slave and one is free.

The novel isn’t perfect, but it is also a rattling good mystery, with a lot of good stuff about fingerprints, an exciting courtroom scene, and a wickedly ironic conclusion to the fate of the faux master. It’s got problems, sure, but it is well worth a read.

I had just told someone I had somewhat of a photographic memory for the books I have read, so imagine my horror when I found my own writing inside this book!
Yes, it had been 20 years and during college, which is so crazy, but still, I took it pretty hard.

The first time I read this, I remember I felt so bad that a son could treat his mother like he did, but I think I get it this time.
Tom (Chambers) is black but when he lives in the white world with all its evils, he becomes wicked and a black-hearted villan. Tom is the metaphor for all that is wrong and immoral in white society.

Pudd'nhead Wilson's calendar is hilarious. I loved the quirky quotes and things he said. I wish it were real and I would hang it on my wall.

Quotes I liked:

55: That was because he did not know himself.

Good advice for teachers:
136: Wilson stopped and stood silent. Inattention dies a quick and sure death when a speaker does that. The stillness gives warning that something is coming.