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The Greatest Writers of All Time #6
Herman Melville: Great Masters Library
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1853
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About the author
Herman Melville
2,381 books4,516 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.
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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!
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.
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.
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March 2, 2009Still digesting Bartleby the Scrivener...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews