Home
Pudd'nhead Wilson
And Those Extraordinary Twins
Book Summary
The American humorist's classic novel depicting human nature under slavery
Genres:
This book is about:
- Infants switched at birth,
- Passing (Identity),
- Conjoined twins,
- Missouri,
- Legal stories,
- Race relations,
- Trials (Murder),
- Impostors and imposture,
- Fiction
NPR stories about Pudd'nhead Wilson
Three Books...
Fakin' It: Three Books On Masquerading Identities
The Runner is the most recent reminder of the way class can be performed in America, but Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson offers an early example of America's obsession with stories about racial imposture. The narrative begins with the decision of a light-skinned slave mother named Roxy to switch her baby with her master's white baby. What follows is a comedy of racial manners. But Twain's story grows dark when Roxy's switched son learns that he's not who he thought... more
—David Anthony
Comments
Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.