The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Switched at birth by a female slave who fears for her infant sons life a light-skinned child changes places with the masters white son. From this simple premise Mark Twain fashioned one of his most entertaining funny yet biting novels an engrossing tale of reversed identities an eccentric detective a horrible crime and a tense courtroom scene. About The Author: Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30 1835 in Florida Missouri; his family moved to the port town of Hannibal four years later. His father an unsuccessful farmer died when Twain was eleven. Soon afterward the boy began working as an apprentice printer and by age sixteen he was writing newspaper sketches. He left Hannibal at eighteen to work as an itinerant printer in New York Philadelphia St. Louis and Cincinnati. From 1857 to 1861 he worked on Mississippi steamboats advancing from cub pilot to licensed pilot. After river shipping was interrupted by the Civil War Twain headed west with his brother Orion who had been appointed secretary to the Nevada Territory. Settling in Carson City he tried his luck at prospecting and wrote humorous pieces for a range of newspapers. Around this time he first began using the pseudonym Mark Twain derived from a riverboat term. Relocating to San Francisco he became a regular newspaper correspondent and a contributor... read more Name: Mark Twain Also Known As: Samuel Langhorne Clemens (real name); Sieur Louis de Conte Date of Birth: November 30 1835 Place of Birth: Florida Missouri Date of Death: April 21 1910 Place of Death: Redding Connecticut Biography Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30 1835 in Florida Missouri; his family moved to the port town of Hannibal four years later. His father an unsuccessful farmer died when Twain was eleven. Soon afterward the boy began working as an apprentice printer and by age sixteen he was writing newspaper sketches. He left Hannibal at eighteen to