Raymond M. Weaver
Author
Language
English
Description
When he died in 1891, the author of “Moby-Dick” was an obscure figure in American literature. This 1921 biography, placing Melville in the context of his Yankee heritage and drawing from his correspondence with Nathaniel Hawthorne, is largely responsible for reassessing Melville's reputation and restoring him to his rightful place in the literary pantheon.
Author
Series
Works ; 13
Publisher
Russell & Russell
Pub. Date
1963.
Language
English
Description
Billy Budd: Billy Budd is a seaman impressed into service aboard HMS Bellipotent in the year 1797, when the Royal Navy was reeling from two major mutinies and was threatened by the Revolutionary French Republic's military ambitions. Billy, a foundling from Bristol, has an innocence, good looks and a natural charisma that make him popular with the crew. His only physical defect is a stutter which grows worse when under intense emotion. Billy arouses...
Author
Series
Works ; 3
Language
English
Description
Presented as narratives of his own South Sea experiences, Melville's first two books had roused incredulity in many readers. Their disbelief, he declared, had been "the main inducement" in altering his plan for his third book, Mardi: and a Voyage Thither (1849). Melville wanted to exploit the "rich poetical material" of Polynesia and also to escape feeling "irked, cramped, & fettered" by a narrative of facts. "I began to feel . . . a longing to plume...
