The Sot-Weed Factor

By John Barth

Set in the late 1600s, this epic tale follows Ebenezer Cooke’s chaotic journey to the New World to manage his father’s tobacco business and document the struggles of the Maryland colony through an ambitious poem. Amidst pirates, rogues, and a bawdy cast of characters who constantly switch identities, Cooke faces trials such as captivity, loss, love, and attempts at seduction. This modern classic, deemed by critics as Barth’s most distinguished masterpiece, offers a hilarious and enduring commentary on human vice.