Bartleby and Benito Cereno - Softcover

Melville, Herman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1420956191 ISBN 13: 9781420956191

Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

In this collection readers will find two of Herman Melville’s most renowned shorter works, “Bartleby: The Scrivener”, and “Benito Cereno”. The first story, “Bartleby”, was first serialized in two issues of “Putnam’s Magazine” in November and December of 1853. It concerns the office of a Wall Street lawyer who due to an increase in business hires a third scrivener named Bartleby to copy legal documents by hand. At first Bartleby proves to be a very productive worker but one day begins acting rather strangely. When asked to proofread a document he replies “I would prefer not to”, an answer he begins repeating perpetually in regards to all the tasks put to him. What follows for Bartleby is a tragic decline into apathy. The second story, “Benito Cereno”, first appeared in “Putnam’s Monthly” over three installments in 1855. It is the story on Don Benito Cereno, the captain of a Spanish Slavery ship, and the revolt that happens aboard his ship. Together “Bartleby” and “Benito Cereno” are widely regarded as two of Melville’s finest compositions. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Herman Melville towers among American writers not only for his powerful novels, but also for the stirring novellas and short stories that flowed from his pen. Two of the most admired of these—"Bartleby" and "Benito Cereno"—first appeared as magazine pieces and were then published in 1856 as part of a collection of short stories entitled The Piazza Tales.
"Bartleby" (also known as "Bartleby the Scrivener") is an intriguing moral allegory set in the business world of mid-19th-century New York. A strange, enigmatic man employed as a clerk in a legal office, Bartleby forces his employer to come to grips with the most basic questions of human responsibility.
"Benito Cereno," considered one of Melville's best short stories, deals with a bloody slave revolt on a Spanish vessel. A splendid parable of man's struggle against the forces of evil, the carefully developed and mysteriously guarded plot reveals the horror and depravity of which man is capable.

About the Author

Herman Melville (1819–1891) found early success with stories inspired by his adventures in the South Seas. His fortunes declined with the 1851 publication of Moby-Dick, now recognized as a masterpiece but scorned by Melville’s contemporaries. The author was obliged to work as a New York City customs inspector and died in obscurity, three decades before the critical reassessment of his work.

Edition details

• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1420956191
• ISBN 13: 9781420956191
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 102