The duck is mentioned by the hero of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Artist of the Beautiful", and is referenced and discussed in John Twelve Hawks' novel "Spark". In Thomas Pynchon's historical novel "Mason & Dixon", Vaucanson's duck attains consciousness and pursues an exiled Parisian chef across the United States. The duck is referred to in Peter Carey's novel, "The Chemistry of Tears". Vaucanson and his duck are referred to in Lawrence Norfolk's 1991 novel "Lempriere's Dictionary". The Duck is featured in Lavie Tidhar's "The Bookman", in the Egyptian Hall, alongside the Turk.