The Sot-Weed Factor

"The Sot-Weed Factor" is a 1960 satirical novel by John Barth that parodies 18th-century literature by following a naive poet named Ebenezer Cooke. Cooke travels from England to colonial Maryland to manage a tobacco plantation, only to be robbed and caught up in the wild, absurd realities of the New World.

Yes, Ebenezer Cooke was an actual historical figure who wrote a famous satirical poem in 1708 titled "The Sot-Weed Factor." Barth took this real-life poet and his poem as the inspiration for his novel, expanding Cooke's brief misadventures into a massive, comedic epic.

The book is considered a foundational text of American postmodern literature, utilizing complex narrative structures, unreliable narrators, and historical revisionism. It challenged traditional historical narratives by presenting a bawdy, chaotic, and highly cynical view of America's founding.

In colonial terminology, a "sot-weed factor" was a merchant or broker who traded in "sot-weed," which was the contemporary slang for tobacco. The title perfectly captures the novel's focus on the gritty, commercial realities of the tobacco trade in early Maryland.