num_pages: 64
description: Academics hail it as the beginning of modernism, but to readers around the world—even those daunted by Moby-Dick—Bartleby the Scrivener is simply one of the most absorbing and moving novellas ever. Set in the mid-19th century on New York City's Wall Street, it was also, perhaps, Herman Melville's most prescient story: what if a young man caught up in the rat race of commerce finally just said, "I would prefer not to"?The tale is one of the final works of fiction published by Melville before, slipping into despair over the continuing critical dismissal of his work after Moby-Dick, he abandoned publishing fiction. The work is presented here exactly as it was originally published in Putnam's magazine—to, sadly, critical disdain.
language: English
title: Bartleby the Scrivener
titlecomplete: Bartleby the Scrivener
characters: Bartleby, Nippers, Turkey, Ginger Nut
genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, The United States Of America, Novella, Read For School, School, Literature, 19th Century, American
ratings_count: 61572
places: New York City, New York
publisher: Melville House