Knave, Fool, and Genius

The confidence man held a fascination for Melville, Hawthorne, Howells, Johnson J. Hooper, Bret Harte, and Mark Twain. In this study the writers are grouped in such a way as to emphasize certain large-scale cultural patterns of nineteenth-century America. Primary attention is given to the con man character himself and the ways in which he reflects the unique qualities and perceptions of a given writer. Originally published in 1973.