The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain

THE TRAGEDY OF PUDD'NHEAD WILSON is a humorous novel by Mark Twain and set, like many of his other novels, in antebellum Missouri along the Mississippi River. The story mainly follows that of Roxy, a freed slave (only 1/16 black) and her son Chambers (only 1/32 black), whom she manages to switch with a "white" baby belonging to a wealthy judge. The titular character, "Pudd'nhead" Wilson (meaning nitwit) is an attorney regarded as a odd eccentric. Twain skillfully uses the characters of Roxy, Chambers, and Tom Driscoll to poke fun at the racial attitudes of the time.