Thursday Thinkpiece: Melville on Bartleby
Each Thursday we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.
Bartleby, the Scrivener
Herman Melville
New York: 1853, Putnam’s Magazine (Public domain)
[A LibriVox recording of the novella is also available.]
. . . Now my original business—that of a conveyancer and title hunter, and drawer-up of recondite documents of all sorts—was considerably increased by receiving the master’s office. There was now great . . . [more]


