The Confidence-Man (1857) is a novel by American writer Herman
Melville. After the failure of his novels Moby-Dick (1851) and Pierre:
or, The Ambiguities (1852), Melville struggled to find a publisher who
would accept his work. When it was published, The Confidence-Man was
seen as a flawed, unnecessarily complicated novel, and beyond several
collections of poetry, it all but ended Melville's career as a
professional writer. When Melville's work was reappraised in the 1920s,
however, scholars recognized his status as one of nineteenth century
America's finest literary voices. A keen visionary, Melville's satirical
outlook and pessimistic sense of American morality drive the fragmented
narrative of The Confidence-Man, his final, most complicated, and
perhaps most rewarding novel.
In St. Louis, a mute man dressed in cream colored clothes boards a
riverboat bound for New Orleans. On the journey down the Mississippi, a
cast of characters at once bizarre and commonplace passes the time
playing cards, engaging in conversation, and attempting to gain one
another's trust. A crippled African American beggar faces disbelief when
he speaks of his life on the streets. A young and naïve student idolizes
wealthy men and hopes to make a fortune by investing in stocks. A man in
a gray suit asks his fellow passengers to donate to a suspicious
charity. As the boat sails on, it becomes increasingly clear that while
confidence is easily purchased, honesty remains the rarest of
commodities. Set and published on April Fool's Day, The Confidence-Man
is a satire of American life that explores with unsparing pessimism
themes of religion, identity, morality, and the role of money in
everyday life.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Herman Melville's The Confidence-Man is a classic of
American literature reimagined for modern readers.
