Puddn'head Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins (Norton Critical Editions) Paperback – December 16, 2004

As a longtime literature teacher, I admit I had never read any other novels by Mark Twain than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel I’ve read countless times. On a visit to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut—which I heartily recommend—I bought a copy of Pudd’nead Wilson. What a delight! The book is laugh out loud funny, moves along quickly, and paints its African-American characters as quite human indeed. Yes, because it was written in a time when the word was widely used, the “n” word is pervasive, but the major black character, the freed slave Roxana, is a full-bodied persona who is perhaps the best-drawn character in the narrative. Briefly, the story involves the small-town lawyer Pudd’nhead Wilson and the goings on of Roxy and her son. A lot of nefarious doings lead to Wilson solving a murder of a beloved judge. Along the way, we meet some colorful people, among them the Italian twins Luigi and Alfonse. The particular edition I read also included “outtakes.” Originally, Twain says, he wrote a book with two almost opposing plots. As he realized that the Roxy and Wilson characters were taking over his story, he excised one of the two plots, leaving only a vestige of the secondary plot with his twin characters. That other story is included in this edition, the Modern Library edition, with notations by Twain of how and why he cut what he did. It is a fascinating look at an author’s process, plus the excised plot, here titled Those Extraordinary Twins, is entertaining as well. I feel anyone who has never read Twain would love these two stories, and anyone who loves Twain and hasn’t read them must do so.

This is the best edition of the novel I have read so far. I am talking about "Puddn'head Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins (Norton Critical Editions)". "Criticism" includes twenty-three reviews and interpretive essays, and the editor added the related page numbers of the novel in the texts of those extra materials, which are extremely helpful to appreciate this great novel deeply.

OK. I am a Mark Twain "scholar." A self-made scholar. Yes, I studied American Literature in college, but now, in my later years I HAVE become a scholar because,,,I read the entire 3-volume Autobiography, and I have read also--MOST of Mr. Clemens' works. (One day I'll be able to say "ALL of Mr. Clemens' published works.") Here is my comment for Puddn'head Wilson. I enjoyed it. A LOT. I also think that this is the lousiest of Mr. Samuel Clemens' works. "Lousiest" meaning: poorly conceived and injudiciously put together. So there! I am hoping to meet Mr. Clemens in the hereafter, and I will be interested in hearing what HE thinks about it. In the meantime: ENJOY!

A charming read. Twain does it once more.

Thank you,

THIS SELLER STOLE MY MONEY NEVER SEEN THE PRODUCT AND HAS MADE NO EFFORT TO MAKE IT RIGHT. EITHER HAS AMAZON. I'M GREATLY DISAPPOINTED IN BOTH OF YOU!

As someone has said, this is not the best of Twain's writing nor is it the worst. I enjoyed this short novel (Those Extraordinary Twins is actually a separate novel following two of the major characters in Pudd'nhead Wilson. My commentary refers to the first book.) Attributed to Puddn'nhead Wilson, the witty quotes heading each chapter are one of its gems. Also valuable is its highly ironic social commentary. If you have a taste for Mark Twain, you should enjoy this book.

Le livre était bien emballé , et arrivait vite , parfait pour ceux qui en ont besoin pour la fac , aéré , et il y a des images , c'est bête à dire , mais c'est super marrant un livre avec des images qu'on est adulte