 First edition title page | |
| Author | Herman Melville |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Satirical novel, philosophical novel |
| Published | 1857 |
| Publisher | Dix, Edwards & Co. |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | The Piazza Tales |
| Followed by | Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War |
The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade, first published in New York on April Fool's Day 1857, is the ninth and final novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book was published on the exact day of the novel's setting.
Centered on the title character, The Confidence-Man portrays a group of steamboat passengers. Their interlocking stories are told as they travel on the Mississippi River toward New Orleans. The narrative structure is reminiscent of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Scholar Robert Milder notes: "Long mistaken for a flawed novel, the book is now admired as a masterpiece of irony and control, although it continues to resist interpretive consensus."[1]
- ^ Milder (1988), 440