The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson is Mark Twain's novel set in a Mississippi River town before the Civil War. It blends small-town comedy, social satire, and a mystery about identity, slavery, and a courtroom trial, centered on a gentle lawyer whose fingerprint hobby becomes important. It is worth listening for its sharp dialogue and its critique of race and justice.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson By Mark Twain SĵƽǼŧƯ L. CƯŧƽŧƿǪ 1894 HARTFORD, CONN. AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY Copyright, 1894, by OLIVIA L. CLEMENS All Rights Reserved The right of dramatization and translation reserved. Copyright, 1893-1894, by the Century Company, in the Century Magazine. Copyright, 1894, by Olivia L. Clemens (All Rights Reserved) Contents Chapter Chapter Title Page
A WHISPER TO THE READER 15 I. Pudd'nhead Wins His Name 17 DRISCOLL SPARES HIS SLAVES . 27 III. ROXY PLAYS A SHREWD TRICK 41 IV. THE WAYS OF THE CHANGELINGS 52 V. THE TWINS THRILL DAWSON'S LANDING 67 SWIMMING IN GLORY VI. 77 VII. THE UNKNOWN NYMPH 86 VIII. MARSE TOM TRAMPLES HIS CHANCE дз IX. TOM PRACTISES SYCOPHANCY 111 Х. THE NYMPH REVEALED 121 XI. Pudd'nhead's Startling Discovery 130 XII. THE SHAME OF JUDGE DRISCOLL 155 XIII. TOM STARES AT RUIN 166 XIV. ROXANA INSISTS 179 XV. THE ROBBER ROBBED 197 XVI. Sold Down The River 214 XVII. THE JUDGE UTTERS DIRE PROPHECY 221 XVIII. ROXANA COMMANDS 225 XIX. THE PROPHECY REALIZED 246 XX. THE MURDERER CHUCKLES 263 ХХІ. DOOM 278 CONCLUSION 300 Pudd'nhead Wilson
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