9780810119680

Book Description: Northwestern University Press, United States, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New edition. 216 x 140 mm. Brand New Book with Free Worldwide Delivery. Long considered Melville's strangest novel, "The Confidence-Man" is a comic allegory aimed at the optimism and materialism of mid-nineteenth century America. A shape-shifting Confidence-Man approaches passengers on a Mississippi River steamboat and, winning over his not-quite-innocent victims with his charms, urges each to trust in the cosmos, in nature, and even in human nature--with predictable results. In Melville's time the book was such a failure he abandoned fiction writing for twenty years; only in the twentieth century did critics celebrate its technical virtuosity, wit, comprehensive social vision, and wry skepticism. This scholarly edition includes a Historical Note offering a detailed account of the novel's composition, publication, reception, and subsequent critical history. In addition the editors present the twenty-six surviving manuscript leaves and scraps with full transcriptions and analytical commentary. This scholarly edition aims to present a text as close to the author's intention as surviving evidence permits. Based on collations of both editions publishing during Melville's lifetime, it incorporates 138 emendations made by the present editors. It is an Approved Text of the Center for Editions of American Authors (Modern Language Association of America). Bookseller Inventory # AAC9780810119680

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: NORTHWESTERN UNIV PR, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New book. Shipped from US. Bookseller Inventory # IB-9780810119680

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: University of Chicago press. Book Condition: New. New. Bookseller Inventory # 0810119684

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: Northwestern University Press. Paperback. Book Condition: new. BRAND NEW, The Confidence-man: His Masquerade (New edition), Herman Melville, Long considered the author's strangest novel, this work is a comic allegory aimed at the optimism and materialism of mid-18th-century America. A mysterious shape-changing confidence-man approaches passengers on a Mississippi steamboat and, winning over the (not quite innocent) victims with his charm, urges them to trust implicitly in the cosmos, in nature, and even in human nature - with predictable results. This novel represented a departure for Herman Melville, a satirical and socially acute work that was to be a further step away from his sea novels. Yet it confused and angered reviewers who preferred to pigeonhole him as an adventure writer. Some have argued that the book was a joke on the readers loyal to his sea stories, but if so, it backfired. Dismissed by critics as unreadable, and an undoubted financial failure, the novel's cold reception undermined Melville's belief in his ability to make a living writing works that were both popular and profound, and he soon gave up fiction. It was not until the mid-20th-century that critics rediscovered the book and praised its wit, modern technique, and wry view that life may be just a cosmic con game. Bookseller Inventory # B9780810119680

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: NORTHWESTERN UNIV PR, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New book. Shipped from US. Bookseller Inventory # IB-9780810119680

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: Northwestern Univ Pr, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: Brand New. the author edition. 251 pages. 8.25x5.50x0.75 inches. In Stock. Bookseller Inventory # x-0810119684

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: Northwestern University Press, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 8.49 by 6 inches. (00251 pages) [ships from USA takes 8-14 days to Europe] Lang=English accessory:NO ACCESSORY (Paperback ). Bookseller Inventory # AF0810119684

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: Paperback. Book Condition: New. 141mm x 19mm x 216mm. 251 pages. 0.304. Bookseller Inventory # 9780810119680

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question

Book Description: Paperback. Book Condition: New. 141mm x 19mm x 216mm. 251 pages. 0.304. Bookseller Inventory # 9780810119680

Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question