Archiv der Kategorie: Melville, Herman

The Piazza Tales – Herman Melville

‘The Piazza Tales’ is a collection of short stories by Herman Melville. The volume contains the following stories:

The Piazza
Bartleby
Benito Cereno
The Lightning-Rod Man
The Encantadas
The Bell-Tower

The Piazza Tales

The Piazza Tales.

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9783849671693.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Some background on The Piazza Tales (from Wikipedia):

In addition to the five stories, Melville wrote an introductory story for which the volume was titled. Scholar Douglas Robillard believes that this served the purpose of making the stories to appear “more closely joined than they actually are.”

The contract for the book was signed on 17 March 1856, it was advertised on 5 April as “in press” … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Mardi: And A Voyage Thither – Herman Melville

Mardi is, unlike Melville’s typically autobiographical novels, a work of pure fiction. Like in Typee and Omoo the work narrates the travelings of an American sailor who abandons his whaling vessel to explore the South Pacific. What is new, however, is Mardi’s highly philosophical touch.

Format: Paperback

Mardi: And A Voyage Thither

Mardi: And A Voyage Thither.

ISBN: 9783849671976.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

A short overview of Mardi (from Wikipedia):

Mardi is Melville’s first pure fiction work (while featuring fictional narrators; his previous novels were heavily autobiographical). It details (much like Typee and Omoo) the travelings of an American sailor who abandons his whaling vessel to explore the South … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Redburn – His First Voyage – Herman Melville

Redburn is a semi-autobiographical novel concerning the sufferings of a refined youth among coarse and brutal sailors and the seedier areas of Liverpool. This theme of a youth confronted by realities and evils for which he is unprepared-or incorrectly prepared by both family and American institutions-is a prominent one in Melville’s works.

Redburn – His First Voyage

Format: Paperback

Redburn – His First Voyage.

ISBN: 9783849672997.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Plot summary of Redburn (from Wikipedia):

Unable to find employment at home, young Wellingborough Redburn signs on the Highlander, a merchantman out of New York City bound for Liverpool, England. Representing himself as the “son of a gentleman” and … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas – Herman Melville

Omoo:is Melville’s sequel to Typee, and, as such, is also considered autobiographical. After leaving Nuku Hiva, the main character ships aboard a whaling vessel which makes its way to Tahiti, after which there is a mutiny and the majority of the crew are imprisoned on Tahiti. The book follows the actions of the narrator as he explores Tahiti and remarks on their customs and way of life.

Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas

Format: Paperback

Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas.

ISBN: 9783849673345.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Some background on Omoo (from Wikipedia):

In the Preface to Omoo, Melville claimed to have written “from simple recollection” strengthened by … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade – Herman Melville

Typee was Melville’s first book, originally published in London in 1846. Even today it is an absolute classic in travel and adventure literature and is partly based on the author’s actual experiences on the island Nuku Hiva in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands. Of course there is still room for a lot of imaginative reconstruction and adaptation of material from other books. Typee was Melville’s most popular work during his lifetime.

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade

Format: Paperback

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade.

ISBN: 9783849673185.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Some background on The Confidence-Man (from Wikipedia):

The novel’s title refers to its central character, an ambiguous figure who sneaks aboard a Mississippi … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Typee: A Romance of the South Seas – Herman Melville

Typee was Melville’s first book, originally published in London in 1846. Even today it is an absolute classic in travel and adventure literature and is partly based on the author’s actual experiences on the island Nuku Hiva in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands. Of course there is still room for a lot of imaginative reconstruction and adaptation of material from other books. Typee was Melville’s most popular work during his lifetime.

Typee: A Romance of the South Seas

Format: Paperback

Typee: A Romance of the South Seas.

ISBN: 9783849673574.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Some background on Typee (from Wikipedia):

Typee is “in fact, neither literal autobiography nor … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities – Herman Melville

Pierre; or, The Ambiguities was first published in New York in 1852. The plot makes it a Gothic novel and evolves around the tensions in Pierre Glendinning’s family. There are his widowed mother, his cousin Glendinning Stanley, his fiancee Lucy Tartan and Isabel Banford, who is revealed to be his half-sister.

Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities

Format: Paperback

Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities.

ISBN: 9783849673734.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Plot summary of Pierre (from Wikipedia):

Pierre Glendinning, junior, is the 19-year-old heir to the manor at Saddle Meadows in upstate New York. Pierre is engaged to the blonde Lucy Tartan in a match approved by his domineering mother, who controls the … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

White-Jacket: Or The World In A Man-Of-War – Herman Melville

White-Jacket is a novel that perfectly reflects on the American naval life of the 19th century and is widely based on his own experiences when he sailed on the USS United States as a seaman.

White-Jacket: Or The World In A Man-Of-WarFormat: Paperback

White-Jacket: Or The World In A Man-Of-War.

ISBN: 9783849675141.

Available at amazon.com and other venues.

Overview on White-Jacket (from Wikipedia):

Based on Melville’s experiences as a common seaman aboard the frigate USS United States from 1843 to 1844 and stories that other sailors told him, the novel is severely critical of virtually every aspect of American naval life and thus qualifies as Melville’s most politically strident … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land – Herman Melville

Who could possibly have foreseen that the author of “Typee” and “Omoo” would at last appear as the author of a poem of 18,000 lines, inspired by religious doubts, questions and aspirations? That Mr. Melville has a vein of native poetry in his nature was already manifested by some ballads which he published during the civil war; but it still remains an amazement that the hero of whaling and Polynesian adventures had become a theological mystic in his ripened years. The plot of Clarel has been constructed as a frame upon which to hang descriptions of the scenery of Palestine and the theological discussions of a chance company … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...