What do you think?
Rate this book
The Greatest Writers of All Time #6
Delphi Complete Works of Herman Melville US
Herman Melville is a giant of American literature, whose novels are hailed as literary masterpieces. This eBook offers readers the complete works for the first time in digital print, as well as an array of bonus features.
Features:
* illustrated with many images relating to Melville’s life and works
* annotated with concise introductions to the novels and other works
* ALL the novels (except BILLY BUDD), with separate contents tables
* MOBY-DICK and other works are presented with their original illustrations
* images of how the novels first appeared, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* two short story collections
* the complete poetry collections
* the scarce poetry collection WEEDS AND WILDINGS, which Melville wrote for his wife - first time in digital print
* uncollected poetry section, with rare works
* separate CHRONOLOGICAL and ALPHABETICAL contents tables for the poetry – find that special poem easily!
* includes Melville's complete essays, available nowhere else
* bonus collection of letters by Melville - explore the writer's personal correspondence
* boasts a special criticism section, with essays by writers such as D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf examining Melville’s contribution to literature
* features Raymond Weaver's seminal biography on Melville, which sparked the great revival in the author
* scholarly ordering of texts in chronological order and literary genres, allowing easy navigation around Melville’s immense oeuvre
PLEASE NOTE: Due to US copyright restrictions, BILLY BUDD, SAILOR and two short stories are not available in this collection. Once they enter the US public domain in 2020, they will be added to the eBook as a free update.
CONTENTS:
The Novels
TYPEE
OMOO
MARDI
REDBURN
WHITE-JACKET
MOBY-DICK
PIERRE
ISLE OF THE CROSS (lost novel - information only)
ISRAEL POTTER
THE CONFIDENCE-MAN
The Short Story Collections
THE PIAZZA TALES
THE APPLE-TREE TABLE AND OTHER SKETCHES
The Short Stories
LIST OF THE SHORT STORIES
The Poetry Collections
BATTLE PIECES AND ASPECTS OF THE WAR
CLAREL: A POEM AND PILGRIMAGE IN THE HOLY LAND
JOHN MARR AND OTHER SAILORS
TIMOLEON AND OTHER VENTURES
WEEDS AND WILDINGS, WITH A ROSE OR TWO
The Poems
LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
The Essays
FRAGMENTS FROM A WRITING DESK
ETCHINGS OF A WHALING CRUISE REVIEW
AUTHENTIC ANECDOTES OF ‘OLD ZACK’
MR PARKMAN'S TOUR
COOPER'S NEW NOVEL
A THOUGHT ON BOOK-BINDING
HAWTHORNE AND HIS MOSSES
The Letters
SOME PERSONAL LETTERS OF HERMAN MELVILLE BY MEADE MINNIGERODE
The Criticism
THE BEST SEA-STORY EVER WRITTEN BY ARCHIBALD MACMECHAN
HERMAN MELVILLE'S MOBY DICK BY D. H. LAWRENCE
HERMAN MELVILLE'S TYPEE AND OMOO BY D. H. LAWRENCE
HERMAN MELVILLE BY VIRGINIA WOOLF
The Biography
HERMAN MELVILLE: MAN, MARINER AND MYSTIC BY RAYMOND WEAVER
Features:
* illustrated with many images relating to Melville’s life and works
* annotated with concise introductions to the novels and other works
* ALL the novels (except BILLY BUDD), with separate contents tables
* MOBY-DICK and other works are presented with their original illustrations
* images of how the novels first appeared, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* two short story collections
* the complete poetry collections
* the scarce poetry collection WEEDS AND WILDINGS, which Melville wrote for his wife - first time in digital print
* uncollected poetry section, with rare works
* separate CHRONOLOGICAL and ALPHABETICAL contents tables for the poetry – find that special poem easily!
* includes Melville's complete essays, available nowhere else
* bonus collection of letters by Melville - explore the writer's personal correspondence
* boasts a special criticism section, with essays by writers such as D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf examining Melville’s contribution to literature
* features Raymond Weaver's seminal biography on Melville, which sparked the great revival in the author
* scholarly ordering of texts in chronological order and literary genres, allowing easy navigation around Melville’s immense oeuvre
PLEASE NOTE: Due to US copyright restrictions, BILLY BUDD, SAILOR and two short stories are not available in this collection. Once they enter the US public domain in 2020, they will be added to the eBook as a free update.
CONTENTS:
The Novels
TYPEE
OMOO
MARDI
REDBURN
WHITE-JACKET
MOBY-DICK
PIERRE
ISLE OF THE CROSS (lost novel - information only)
ISRAEL POTTER
THE CONFIDENCE-MAN
The Short Story Collections
THE PIAZZA TALES
THE APPLE-TREE TABLE AND OTHER SKETCHES
The Short Stories
LIST OF THE SHORT STORIES
The Poetry Collections
BATTLE PIECES AND ASPECTS OF THE WAR
CLAREL: A POEM AND PILGRIMAGE IN THE HOLY LAND
JOHN MARR AND OTHER SAILORS
TIMOLEON AND OTHER VENTURES
WEEDS AND WILDINGS, WITH A ROSE OR TWO
The Poems
LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
The Essays
FRAGMENTS FROM A WRITING DESK
ETCHINGS OF A WHALING CRUISE REVIEW
AUTHENTIC ANECDOTES OF ‘OLD ZACK’
MR PARKMAN'S TOUR
COOPER'S NEW NOVEL
A THOUGHT ON BOOK-BINDING
HAWTHORNE AND HIS MOSSES
The Letters
SOME PERSONAL LETTERS OF HERMAN MELVILLE BY MEADE MINNIGERODE
The Criticism
THE BEST SEA-STORY EVER WRITTEN BY ARCHIBALD MACMECHAN
HERMAN MELVILLE'S MOBY DICK BY D. H. LAWRENCE
HERMAN MELVILLE'S TYPEE AND OMOO BY D. H. LAWRENCE
HERMAN MELVILLE BY VIRGINIA WOOLF
The Biography
HERMAN MELVILLE: MAN, MARINER AND MYSTIC BY RAYMOND WEAVER
7464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1853
731 people are currently reading
1177 people want to read
About the author
Herman Melville
2,533 books4,591 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 9, 2020
Melville deserves your time. He will repay.
The absurdly idiotic questions as to what should be addressed in a review are beneath this. Moby Dick is the great American novel and more. Which you will see if you read it. Read it!
The absurdly idiotic questions as to what should be addressed in a review are beneath this. Moby Dick is the great American novel and more. Which you will see if you read it. Read it!
April 11, 2021
This omnibus collection is a long read and I have been going into it sporadically over the years with a goal to read all of Melville.
I love 'Moby Dick' and have read it and listened to it a number of times.
'Typee' and 'Omoo" are so different from Moby. Travel books that appealed to general readers and sold best for him in his early days. He went far beyond it in later novels and I suspect his early fans were not willing to make the journey.
I reread The Confidence-Man which is not as difficult a read as Moby and I enjoyed it again.
I recommend the stories and novellas - Bartleby, Billy Budd, etc.
Though I love poetry, Melville's is difficult and not the more modern style I read for pleasure.
2020: My most recent read during the pandemic has been Mardi, which I see packaged in this edition Typee / Omoo / Mardi with the early South Seas tales. That's an odd coupling. I found "Mardi' to be a difficult and not pleasant read and I had to push myself to finish over the courseof month.
2021: Next, I'm taking on Pierre; or, The Ambiguities That subtitle makes me think that this may also be a tough read.
I love 'Moby Dick' and have read it and listened to it a number of times.
'Typee' and 'Omoo" are so different from Moby. Travel books that appealed to general readers and sold best for him in his early days. He went far beyond it in later novels and I suspect his early fans were not willing to make the journey.
I reread The Confidence-Man which is not as difficult a read as Moby and I enjoyed it again.
I recommend the stories and novellas - Bartleby, Billy Budd, etc.
Though I love poetry, Melville's is difficult and not the more modern style I read for pleasure.
2020: My most recent read during the pandemic has been Mardi, which I see packaged in this edition Typee / Omoo / Mardi with the early South Seas tales. That's an odd coupling. I found "Mardi' to be a difficult and not pleasant read and I had to push myself to finish over the courseof month.
2021: Next, I'm taking on Pierre; or, The Ambiguities That subtitle makes me think that this may also be a tough read.
August 18, 2025
There are five stories in this book: Moby Dick, Bartleby, Benito Cereno, The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids...and Billy Budd, Sailor.
--Benito Cereno is by far the best story of the bunch.
--Bartleby and Billy Budd, Sailor were fairly captivating.
--Moby Dick is terrible. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the word "classic" is used to describe this waste of time.
--And speaking of waste of time, The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids is one of the dumbest damn things I've ever read.
--Benito Cereno is by far the best story of the bunch.
--Bartleby and Billy Budd, Sailor were fairly captivating.
--Moby Dick is terrible. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the word "classic" is used to describe this waste of time.
--And speaking of waste of time, The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids is one of the dumbest damn things I've ever read.
September 5, 2025
This is a collection and I read Billy Budd in high school. The project that was/is Moby Dick is a mixed bag though it is mostly good. The language is incredibly beautiful and will have you pause to appreciate it. The larger story is worthwhile but oh my God the details. It’s very easy to get bogged down and it can be difficult to get through the nitty gritty of whale blubber rendering to get to the story line…worth it, but gird up your loins, it takes a lot to get through it.
Read
March 2, 2009Still digesting Bartleby the Scrivener...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews