Puddnhead Wilson and Other Tales : Those Extraordinary Twins, the Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Mark Twain (Author), R.D. Gooder (Author)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: July 22, 1999

Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), written in a more sombre vein than his other Mississippi writings, was Mark Twain's last serious work of fiction. It reveals the sinister forces that, towards the end of his life, Twain thought to be threatening the American dream. The central plot revolves around the tragedy of "Roxy," a mulatto slave whose attempt to save her son from his fate succeeds only in destroying him. An astringent work which raises the serious issue of racial difference, Pudd'nhead Wilson is considered by the critic F.R. Leavis to be "a classic of the use of popular modes--the sensational and the melodramatic." The volume also includes two other late works by Twain, Those Extraordinary Twins and The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, novelist, writer, and lecturer. R. D. Gooder is at Clare College, Cambridge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192837303
• ISBN-13: 978-0192837301
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,226,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was an American humorist, satirist, social critic, lecturer and novelist. He is mostly remembered for his classic novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely joyful and totally entertaining with mystery., December 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Pudd'nhead Wilson and Other Tales: Those Extraordinary Twins, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg (The World's Classics) (Paperback)

As entertaining as any of Mark Twain's works. Fun for all ages. Great stroy and lessons in life as well as Twain's great gift for humor, subtle and obvious. Totally entertaining with enough drama to keep your interest. Great for entertainment, education or teaching.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Book Marred By An Absolutely Terrible Introduction, December 13, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Pudd'nhead Wilson: Those Extraordinary Twins, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

If you buy this book, dive straight into the Twain works themselves and completely skip the introduction which contains such inane and unintelligible howlers as "Mark Twain has proved to be a one book author" and "every reader of Huckleberry Finn feels that the end of the novel is artistically mismanaged" and "Mark Twain's difficulties in writing the fully articulated novel consonant with the mood into which his mature experience had precipitated him are most evident in the construction of his eponymous hero."

I have no idea who R.D. Gooder is, but all I can say is that I am glad I did not have any literature professors like him. Stick with the unadulterated versions of Twain such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Cambridge World Classics) Special Kindle Enabled Features (Mark Twain Collection) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Cambridge World Classics Edition) Special Kindle Enabled Features (Mark Twain Collection)

5.0 out of 5 stars Real history written in a fictional form, September 6, 2011

By 

Kermit L. Cain (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pudd'nhead Wilson: Those Extraordinary Twins, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I repeatedly purchase this book and hand it out to both my African-American friends/co-workers/associates and others that obtain history from our government's school system (read faulted). Mark Twain gives an incredible window into what one aspect of slavery was really like; the blond, blue eyed slave (only 1/64th "black" was still a slave) wet-nursing the master's child along with her own (that becomes evident is also the "master's" child) and the window of time revealed during this period.
I enjoy sharing this book in the same manner as having people read the emancipation proclamation and having them discover that Lincoln didn't "free" the slaves, only those in the Southern States and only those counties still in rebellion (Lincoln also was attempting to develop a plan to have all Blacks shipped out of the United States after war, won't find that in any government approved history book).
Great narrative, great detective novel, great candid look at that era.