Herman Melville. The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade. New York: Dix, Edwards & Co., 1857.
Herman Melville’s last novel took place aboard a steamship setting out on the Mississippi on the first of April in 1857. The title character is a nondescript and mysterious figure who facilely works the vessel, gaining the confidence of the various passengers on board. They are themselves dubious figures – among them a quack medicine dealer, a fund-raiser for a fake philanthropy, and a crooked stock broker. An everyman and no man, Melville’s Confidence Man embodied the many anxieties of Americans at mid-century who rightfully feared not only being taken advantage of by the people around them, but also being powerless amidst the fluctuating economic tides.
