Pudd’nhead Wilson characters

Also known as Pudd'nhead Wilson

Appears from the start

A young lawyer newly arrived in Dawson's Landing. One misunderstood joke earns him a reputation as a fool and prevents him from building a legal practice, leaving him time to pursue his unusual interest in collecting fingerprints.

Also known as Roxy

First appears in chapter 2

An enslaved woman in Percy Driscoll's household who is legally classified as Black despite having predominantly white ancestry. Devoted to her infant son and terrified that he could someday be sold away, she makes a desperate plan to protect him.

First appears in chapter 2

Percy Driscoll's infant son and heir, born on the same day as Roxy's baby. The children closely resemble one another, though the law assigns them radically different futures.

Also known as Chambers

First appears in chapter 2

Roxy's infant son, one thirty-second Black by ancestry and therefore enslaved under the law of Dawson's Landing. He is almost indistinguishable in appearance from the white baby born in the same household.

First appears in chapter 2

The wealthy owner of Roxy and father of an infant son. His threat to sell household slaves down the river for theft convinces Roxy that her child's apparent security can vanish at any moment.

First appears in chapter 4

Percy Driscoll's brother and a respected local judge. Childless and proud of the Driscoll name, he takes a strong interest in the boy presented to the town as his nephew Tom.

First appears in chapter 5

The spoiled young heir raised as Tom Driscoll. He has the social standing of a prominent white family but grows into a selfish gambler whose debts make him fearful of losing his uncle's inheritance.

First appears in chapter 5

The young man known throughout Dawson's Landing as Chambers and kept in service to Tom. Although physically stronger and more capable than his master, he has been raised under slavery and is punished whenever their childhood rivalry threatens Tom's status.

First appears in chapter 6

One of a pair of handsome Italian twins who become celebrated guests in Dawson's Landing. Luigi is sociable and accomplished, but a conflict with Tom draws him into the town's politics of honor.

First appears in chapter 6

Luigi's twin brother and traveling companion. Angelo shares the brothers' cultivated manners and mysterious history, and the pair's close resemblance becomes one of several challenges to Dawson's Landing's confidence in appearances.

First appears in chapter 6

A leading hostess in Dawson's Landing who takes the visiting Italian twins into her home. Her enthusiasm helps make them the center of local society soon after their arrival.