In this new reprint of the six stories that comprised the 1856 edition of The Piazza Tales, the editors of the acclaimed Northwestern-Newberry Edition of the Writings of Herman Melville have used the original magazine versions for five of the six stories in order to present the most accurate texts of these works. Here, in such famous stories as "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles", we find Melville's imagination and style at its best. Of the less well-known tales, the humor in "The Piazza" and "The Lightning-Rod Man", and the gothic horror of "The Bell Tower", command our careful attention as well.