Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street

In this novella, widely considered one of the finest works of American literature, a lawyer hires the “incurably forlorn” Bartleby as a clerk in his small firm. Silent and enigmatic, Bartleby performs well at first. One day, however, when requested by his employer to assist with some routine proofreading, he declines, using his famous phrase.

Perplexed and oddly intrigued, the lawyer—who narrates the story—attempts to get to the bottom of Bartleby's refusals as the clerk more and more often...