The Devil and Daniel Webster

Written by American author Stephen Vincent Benét, “The Devil and Daniel Webster” is a variation on the Faust myth. Benét’s story tackles themes such as The Devil in America, Patriotism and the Limits of Loyalty, and The Nature of Justice. The story first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1936, though it was later republished in Benét’s collection of stories titled Thirteen O’Clock in 1937. The story subsequently received the O. Henry Award, earning recognition as the best short story published that year. “The Devil and Daniel Webster” was directly influenced by Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” another tale in the Faustian bargain canon.

This guide refers to the version of “The Devil and Daniel Webster” published by Fountainhead Press, which is a direct republishing of Benét’s original 1936 short story. A PDF of the story, with page numbers, can be found here.

Content Warning: The story and guide reference enslavement and the genocide of Indigenous Americans.

The story opens with an unnamed first-person narrator describing what follows as a local legend in parts of New England. The narrator introduces Daniel Webster, a renowned lawyer described in godlike terms: “He never got to be President, but he was the biggest man.