Herman Melville

Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick. His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, became a bestseller), but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime.

When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. In 1919, the unfinished manuscript for his novella Billy Budd was discovered by his first biographer. He published a version in 1924, which was quickly acclaimed by notable British critics as another masterpiece of Melville's. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America.

Read more about Herman Melville:  Later Works, Publications and Contemporary Reactions, Legacy, Selected Bibliography, References and Further Reading

Famous quotes by herman melville:

    O Nature, and O soul of man! how far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies! not the smallest atom stirs or lives in matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    In things abstract, men but differ in the sounds that come from their mouths, and not in the wordless thoughts lying at the bottom of their beings.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    Mystery is in the morning, and mystery in the night, and the beauty of mystery is everywhere; but still the plain truth remains, that mouth and purse must be filled.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    That mortal man who hath more of joy than sorrow in him, that mortal man cannot be true—not true, or undeveloped.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    Climate of Egypt in winter is the reign of spring upon earth, & summer in the air, and tranquility in the heat.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)