{"product_id":"the-confidence-man-book-herman-melville-9780486817514","title":"The The Confidence-Man","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003eOn April Fool's Day in 1856, a shape-shifting grifter boards a Mississippi riverboat to expose the pretenses, hypocrisies, and self-delusions of his fellow passengers. The con artist assumes numerous identities -- a disabled beggar, a charity fundraiser, a successful businessman, an urbane gentleman -- to win over his not-entirely-innocent dupes. The central character's shifting identities, as fluid as the river itself, reflect broader aspects of human identity even as his impudent hoaxes form a meditation on illusion and trust.\u003cbr\u003e This comic allegory addresses themes of sincerity, character, and morality in its challenge to the optimism and materialism of mid-19th-century America. By the time of its publication, readers had pigeonholed Herman Melville as a writer of adventure yarns. The novel was completely misunderstood by the author's contemporaries, and its financial failure drove him away from fiction. With the passage of time, however, \u003ci\u003eThe Confidence-Man\u003c\/i\u003e has come to be recognized for its stunningly modern techniques and its indictment of the dark side of the American dream.\u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49607558660369,"sku":"GOR009969435","price":16.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49730474475793,"sku":"NGR9780486817514","price":18.09,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50354921996561,"sku":"CIN0486817512G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50576573923601,"sku":"CIN0486817512VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0486817512.jpg?v=1751166758","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/products\/the-confidence-man-book-herman-melville-9780486817514","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}