Penguin Classics: Puddn'head Wilson

Back in college when I was an English Literature major I was surprised to find that Mark Twain at the end of his career was a bitter, pessimistic moralist when I read The Mysterious Stranger. But I see this version of Twain in Puddn'head Wilson (1894) as well. I was inspired to read this after reading Paul Theroux's descriptions of it in his book The Old Patagonia Express. It is an interesting novel that has comedic elements, twins separated at birth, as well as those well-suited to a murder mystery: courtroom procedural solving the murder with a stolen dagger. But there's a dark undercurrent present as well that asks about the questions of nature vs. nurture in relation to man's wickedness-which can easily be seen in the institution of slavery and Tom's heartless self-interested behavior in the novel. There is an interesting introduction from Malcolm Bradbury. It is a flawed novel, however, it is also a compelling one as well.