The Internet Book Database of Fiction

#	Date	Publisher	Binding	Cover
1	1894-00-00

Blurb:: Switched at birth by a young slave woman attempting to protect her infant 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 people's fingerprints as a hobby, wins back the respect of his townspeople when he solves a local murder in which two foreigners are falsely accused and reveals the identity of the true killer. Witty, entertaining, and absorbing, the novel also includes a literary first—the use of fingerprinting to solve a crime.

Pudd'nhead Wilson was Twain's last novel about the antebellum South; and despite its frequent injunctions of humor, it fiercely condemned a racially prejudiced society that condoned the institution of slavery.

Originally published serially in Century Magazine, in seven installments from December 1893 to June 1894.