Bartleby, the Scrivener
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" by Herman Melville is a short story first published in 1853. A Wall Street lawyer hires a new copying clerk named Bartleby, who initially works diligently but soon begins refusing all tasks with the phrase "I would prefer not to." As Bartleby's passive resistance intensifies, the baffled narrator struggles to understand his enigmatic employee. This darkly compelling tale explores isolation, compassion, and the mystery of human behavior in an increasingly impersonal world.
- New York (N.Y.)
- Psychological fiction
- Young men
- Wall Street (New York, N.Y.)
- Copyists
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #11231. Bartleby, the Scrivener on Wikipedia.
