Bartleby cover art

Bartleby

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Bartleby

By: Herman Melville
Narrated by: Duncan Brownlehe
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £6.52

Buy Now for £6.52

Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street is a short story by Herman Melville, first serialized in a magazine in 1853, and reprinted with minor edits in The Piazza Tales in 1856. Set in the mid-19th century on Wall Street, the story tells of a lawyer who employs Bartleby, a new clerk, who, after an initial stint of hard work, refuses to perform any task required of him, with the words, "I would prefer not to."

The narrator attempts to reason with Bartleby to no avail, and Bartleby starts living at the office. The lawyer does not have the heart to evict Bartleby, so he moves the company to new premises, and the new tenant at the building has Bartleby forcibly removed. Soon, tragedy ensues. One of this novella’s striking features is the light-hearted approach of the narrative towards a tragic outcome. Bartleby, the Scrivener is considered as an early example of modernism, and a masterpiece at that.

Public Domain (P)2019 Museum Audiobooks
Classics Heartfelt
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet