The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

by Mark Twain, David Thorn Narrated by Various Narrators

Overview

David Wilson has earned the unfortunate nickname "Pudd'nhead" from his fellow townspeople, who fail to understand his combination of wisdom and eccentricity. However, he is eventually able to redeem himself by simultaneously solving a murder mystery and a case of transposed identities.

Two children, a white boy and a mulatto, are born on the same day. Roxy, mother of the mulatto and a slave, is given charge of the children; in fear that her son will be sold, she switches the babies.

The mulatto, though he grows up as a white boy, turns out to be a scoundrel. He sells his mother and murders and robs his uncle. He accuses Luigi, one of a pair of twins, of the murder. Pudd'nhead, a lawyer, undertakes Luigi's defense. On the basis of fingerprint evidence, he exposes the real murderer, and the white boy takes his rightful place.

This classic book, full of grim humor and Twain's trademark style,implicitly condemns a society that allows slavery. It concludes with a series of witty aphorisms from Pudd'nhead's calendar.

Editorial Reviews

AUG/SEP 03 - AudioFile

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

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169918632
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	01/01/2006
Edition description:	Adapted

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