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Herman Melville (1819-91)
Who?
Born in New York, he was the master of colourful description and regarded by many as one of America's greatest novelists. Writing during a period of huge upheaval in the US, with the Civil War raging in the 1860s, his genius was not widely recognised until after his death. He also wrote poems and short stories.
Must reads
Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (1946), Moby Dick or The Whale (1851), Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas (1847), Mardi (1849), Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile (1855) and The Confidence Man: His Masquerade (1857).
Darkest hour
Much of his life. He died almost forgotten. His worst moment was probably his breakdown in middle age, after which he toured Europe to recover.
Greatest triumph
Moby Dick, drawing on Melville's own sea travels and inspired by his friend, novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64), it is the tale of Captain Ahab trying to take revenge on the whale that bit off his leg. Embodying the voices of the US of its day, it uses a mix of Shakespearian style, slang and prophesy.
Essential quotes
'All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks.' (Captain Ahab in Moby Dick).
'Toil is man's allotment; toil of brain, or toil of hands, or a grief that's more than either, the grief and sin of idleness.' (Mardi)
Gossip
He married the daughter of the chief justice of Massechusetts, Elizabeth Shaw, in 1847 and had four children.
Did u know?
Melville had a Manichean view of God, that is to say he believed there to be a primeval conflict between light and darkness, and that there is a piece of divine light in each person's brain that can be freed by religious practice.
What to say
With its allegorical messages, psychological insights and mix of styles, Moby Dick was ahead of its time. A true epic, it helped to create the genre of the great American romantic novel.
Don't say
Didn't he work for Disney?
Copies of the featured books can be purchased from various suppliers including Amazon, Blackwell's and WHSmith.
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