The Confidence-Man

On April Fools’ Day, a Mississippi steamboat named the Fidèle carries a shifting cast of passengers down the river, and among them moves a mysterious figure, or perhaps several figures, who may all be the same swindler in disguise. In a series of sly conversations he tests each traveler’s willingness to trust, taking money, faith, and certainty as he goes. The last novel Melville published in his lifetime, it is a strange, corrosive satire of American optimism and the confidence trick at the heart of commerce and religion alike. Ignored in 1857, it now looks startlingly modern in its ambiguity and dark humor. Free to download as a PDF or EPUB.