This is a story of a sober kind, picturing life in a little town of Missouri, half a century ago. The principal incidents relate to a slave of mixed blood and her almost pure white son, whom she substitutes for her master's baby. The slave by birth grows up in wealth and luxury, but turns out a peculiarly mean scoundrel, and perpetrating a crime, meets with due justice. The science of fingerprints is practically illustrated in detecting the fraud. The title character is the village atheist, whose maxims doubtless express much of the author's own disillusion.

When a mulatto slave woman switches her own infant with the look-alike son of a wealthy merchant, it takes Pudd'nhead Wilson, the town eccentric, to put things right again.

Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894) is a novel by American writer Mark Twain.Its central intrigue revolves around two boys--one, born into slavery,the other,white,born to be the master of the house.The two boys,who look similar,are switched at infancy.Each grows into the other's social role.Originally part of the Pudd'nhead Wilson book, Twain realised during the writing process that the twins were taking a backseat to characters such as Pudd'nhead Wilson,Roxy,and Tom Driscoll.As a result,he took them out and gave them their own short story. He explains all this in the Introduction to this book.

Presents facsimile first editions of Twain's works that include all original illustrations. Each volume contains introductions by literary heavyweights including Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, Cynthia Ozick, Gore Vidal, George Plimpton, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Walter Mosley, among others.

No library's complete without the classics! This new, enhanced leather-bound edition collects some of the most popular works of legendary humorist and novelist Mark Twain. Mark Twain wrote his greatest works more than one hundred years ago, but he's never far from the minds of Americans. Whether it's the new, complete, and uncensored version of his autobiography hitting bestseller lists or the removal of certain controversial language from one of his novels, his name and his legacy remain a topic of conversation--and undoubtedly will for years to come. There's no better time to appreciate his stories, or read them for the very first time. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson are collected in this timeless and elegant book. Part of the Canterbury Classics series, Mark Twain features a beautiful cover, a ribbon bookmark, and other elements to enhance the reading experience, along with an introduction by a renowned Twain scholar that will enlighten new and familiar readers alike. This edition of Mark Twain is a treasure to enjoy forever--just like the writing of Twain himself!

Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” (1682). Mary Rowlandson (c. 1637-1711), nee Mary White, was born in Somerset, England. Her family moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the United States, and she settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts, marrying in 1656. It was here that Native Americans attacked during King Philip’s War, and Mary and her three children were taken hostage. This text is a profound first-hand account written by Mary detailing the experiences and conditions of her capture, and chronicling how she endured the 11 weeks in the wilderness under her Native American captors. It was published six years after her release, and explores the themes of mortal fragility, survival, faith and will, and the complexities of human nature. It is acknowledged as a seminal work of American historical literature.

American humorist and literary master Mark Twain takes on tough issues like slavery, race, and the ugliness that can lurk beneath the surface of rural life in this novel. An interwoven tale of three families whose fates are thrown together in the aftermath of a murder, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson is one of Twain's more serious works, although it is told with the same love of quirky misfits and wonderful observations that enliven books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.