Classic Author Focus: Herman Melville

Herman Melville

Herman Melville was an American author best known for his ambitious and symbolic novel, Moby Dick, which was not a success during his lifetime. Although he began a career as a successful writer, by the time of his death, he was no longer well known until a revival in 1919 around the anniversary of his death. Now, Moby Dick is considered one of the great American novels.

Melville was born in New York City to a family of prosperous merchants, one of eight children. His grandfathers both fought in the American Revolution, and his father, Alan Melvill, was from a well-established Boston family and had been educated in France. However, his father tended to live beyond his means, the family being supported for years by his wife’s parents. When Alan died in 1832, he left the family in dire straits, and when his wife’s father died later the same year, the family found that Alan had borrowed all but $20 (worth about $600 today) of his wife’s inheritance.

While Melville’s brother Gansevoort took over their father’s cap and fur business in Albany, Melville at 14 worked as a clerk in a bank. However, Gansevoort moved him from the bank to the cap and fur store after a fire destroyed much of his business. Melville continued his education at Albany Classical Academy while still working at the store.

In 1837, Gansevoort was forced to declare bankruptcy. Herman worked the family farm before getting a job teaching. At this time, he began to write polemic letters and essays, his first being published in 1839 by the Democratic Press and Lansingburgh Advertiser.

In May of 1839, Gansevoort got Melville a job on a merchant ship sailing to Liverpool. This voyage provided the material for Redburn: His First Voyage, which he published 10 years later. After the voyage, he returned to teaching, but not being paid after a term, resigned. He eventually went to Bedford, Massachusetts, and signed up with a whaler. The voyage took them to islands in the South Seas, to the  Juan Fernandez Islands, the Galápagos Islands, and the the Marquesas. In the summer of 1842, Melville and a shipmate jumped ship in Nuku Hiva Bay and lived there for a month or two before taking a whaler to Tahiti, where he took part in a mutiny, was briefly jailed, escaped, and lived as a beachcomber for a month. He eventually signed on with a whaler and was discharged six months later in Maui. He used these experiences in the short story “The Encantadas,” and the books Omoo and Typee. He finally returned home by joining the U. S. Navy, reaching Boston and being discharged in October 1843.

Upon his return home, his friends and family, excited by his exotic tales, urged him to write. He finished Typee in 1845, and it became in instant bestseller after being published in London in 1846. The next year, he published Omoo to the same response. His brother’s death and his own marriage made him commit to writing, although he tried several times to get a government job. His third novel, Mardi, was not so well accepted, as the public found its allegory and style incomprehensible. Melville quickly returned to his original style for Redburn and White Jacket. Both novels, however, seemed melancholic.

Moby Dick, originally published as The Whale, received no acclaim. Melville became almost a recluse, although he immediately embarked on his next novel. However, none of his efforts after this were successful. Although he continued to publish in Putnam’s Magazine, his contributions became embittered.

Melville abandoned novel writing for poetry after his last sea voyage in 1860. After many efforts, he finally gained a job as a customs inspector in 1866, which brought him a reliable income. He worked there for almost 20 years and was known as an honest officer in a corrupt system. He continued to write until 1885. He was virtually unknown at his death of “cardiac dilation.”

Dates: 1819-1891

Most popular works: Moby Dick, Omoo, Billy Budd

Other works: Typee, Redburn, White Jacket, Pierre, and others

Member reviews:

• Billy Budd, Sailor (Dale)
• The Encantadas (Dale)
• Moby Dick (Arenel) (V Clark) (Dale) (Fanda) (FictionFan) (Joseph) (Karen K.) (katarinaandcatharina) (Kristina) (looloolooweez) (N@ncy) (Shell) (smellincoffee) (Melissa W.) (whatmeread)
• White Jacket (Kristina)