Like the people for and about whom Melville originally wrote, we live in an era of growing division between the wealthy and the poor, and of increasing tension between races, punctuated by sometimes violent protest. In “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and “Benito Cereno,” Melville seems to have been both recording the strains and stresses of his own society and prophesying many of our current troubles. In the other stories, through a variety of characters and in several different settings, Melville explores what happens when dreams collide with reality or when sharp players try to take advantage of the idealistic beliefs of others.

Despite being a celebrated author, Melville is surprisingly little read. It is said that his books are too long, too challenging, or too strange. None of that is true, of course, but for anyone curious about Melville’s fictional worlds, hopefully this introduction has demonstrated that The Piazza Tales is the best place to start. It provides a sense of both the highs and lows of his artistry.