Published in 1894, The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson is set in the fictional Missouri town of Dawson’s Landing before the American Civil War. Roxy, an enslaved woman with predominantly European ancestry, fears that her infant son, Chambers, may be sold into harsher conditions. She secretly exchanges him with Tom Driscoll, the son of her enslaver, allowing Chambers to grow up as a wealthy white heir while Tom is raised in slavery. Meanwhile, David Wilson, a lawyer nicknamed “Pudd’nhead” (nitwit) after a misunderstood remark, develops an interest in collecting fingerprints.

Years later, the young man known as Tom accumulates gambling debts and resorts to theft. During a robbery, he murders Judge Driscoll, and suspicion falls on two visiting Italian twins. Wilson defends the accused and uses fingerprint evidence to identify the murderer and expose the childhood exchange. The discovery reverses the men’s legal positions but cannot undo their upbringing. Through this reversal, Twain examines slavery, racial classification, inherited privilege and the influence of social circumstances on identity.