The story in one page
Roxy, an enslaved woman, swaps her infant son, Valet de Chambre, with the household's legitimate heir, Tom, to protect her child from being sold down the river. As they age, Tom turns into a dissolute bully, while the real heir is raised as a servant. Their lives collide when two aristocratic Italian twins arrive in town and a subsequent murder exposes long-hidden secrets. A misunderstood lawyer named David Wilson, once dubbed a pudd'nhead for his hobby of taking fingerprints, suddenly becomes the only person capable of untangling the switched identities, irrevocably destroying lives in the process.
Who's who
- Roxy
An enslaved woman who triggers the switch to save her son.
- Tom
The impostor raised in luxury who descends into gambling and theft.
- David Wilson
The outsider lawyer who documents fingerprints as a private hobby.
- Judge Driscoll
The wealthy pillar of society who is eventually murdered by his heir.
- Luigi
One of two Italian twins who becomes a target of local suspicion.
What it's really about
- Identity
- Social status is maintained by a fragile, arbitrary legal fiction.
- Chance
- One small moment in a nursery dictates a lifetime.
Why it's memorable
- A thumbprint on a glass slide revealing a massive deception.
- A kick sending a man flying across a crowded town meeting.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
The truth is revealed in court, restoring the original heir to his estate while the impostor is sold into slavery.
For your book club
- The legal system treats identity as a product of birth records.
- Wilson's hobby is dismissed by everyone until it destroys the town.