The Essex and the whale : Melville's Leviathan library and the birth of Moby-Dick / R.D. Madison, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Madison, R. D., editor.

John Louis Haney Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891. Moby Dick--Sources.

Melville, Herman.

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891--Knowledge and learning--Whaling.

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891.

Whaling.

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891--Books and reading.

Whaling--Literary collections.

Novelists, American--19th century--Biography.

Novelists, American.

History.

Whalers (Persons).

Books and reading.

South Pacific Ocean.

United States.

Whalers (Persons)--United States--Biography.

Whaling--South Pacific Ocean--History--19th century.

Genre:

Biographies.

Literary collections.

Literature.

Physical Description:

xxxiv, 275 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Santa Barbara, California : Praeger, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, [2016]

Summary:

The notorious 1820 sinking of the whaleship Essex inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, as recounted in Nathaniel Philbrick's bestselling book In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex--now a major motion picture. But how exactly did Melville transmute the historic tragedy of the Essex into what is arguably the "Great American Novel"? Here, for the first time, R. D. Madison collects together Melville's personal "library" of whaling and whale-lore into a single volume and presents these primary sources in a way that readers can readily see how a horrific whaling tragedy became a literary masterpiece. But where die Moby-Dick begin? Prompted by sailor-author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Melville supplemented his own firsthand experience as a whaleman in the South Pacific with "libraries" of books that he "swum through" to create his whaling masterpiece. Scholars and lay readers alike have long wondered how he did it, and over the past 60 years, a very tight theory of inspiration and creation has emerged. It is very likely wrong. This volume gathers together for the first time all of the main texts that Melville encountered, including the accounts of the unique sinking of the Essex by a sperm whale that provided the climax for Moby-Dick. Melville scholar R. D. Madison examines what critics have said about Melville's response to the sinking and offers the challenging thesis that Melville did not even begin the book at all until spurred on by Dana in the spring of 1850. -- Inside jacket flap.

Contents:

"Chapter 45: The Affidavit," Moby-Dick or the Whale (1851) / Herman Melville Melville, Herman 1

Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex (1821) / Owen Chase Chase, Owen 9

"Mocha Dick; Or the White Whale of the Pacific: A Leaf from a Manuscript Journal" (1839) / Jeremiah N. Reynolds Reynolds, Jeremiah N. 61

Journal of a Cruise Made to the Pacific Ocean (1815) From "Gallapagos Islands Prizes," / David Porter Porter, David 81

Incidents of a Whaling Voyage (1841) / From Francis Allyn Olmsted Olmsted, From Francis Allyn 89

Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe (1840) / From Frederick Debell Bennett Bennett, From Frederick Debell 93

A Narrative of the Sufferings and Adventures of Capt. Charles H. Barnard, in a Voyage round the World (1836) / From Charles H. Barnard Barnard, From Charles H. 109

Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the. Countries Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (1846) / From Charles Darwin Darwin, From Charles 111

Etchings of a Whaling Cruise (1846) / From J. Ross Browne Browne, From J. Ross 117

"Currents and Whaling," Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition (1844) / From Charles Wilkes Wilkes, From Charles 143

An Historical and Critical Dictionary (1710) / From Pierre Bayle Bayle, From Pierre 147

The Pilot; A Tale of the Sea (1824) and The Sea Lions; or, the Lost Sealers (1849) / From James Fenimore Cooper Cooper, From James Fenimore 149

A Mariners Sketches (1830) / From Nathaniel Ames Ames, From Nathaniel 165

Penny Cyclopadia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1843) / From "Whales" "Whales", From 169

Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter (1824) / From Henry Trumbull Trumbull, From Henry 177

"Whale," in John Kitto, Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature (1845) / C. Hamilton Smith Smith, C. Hamilton 181

Account of the Arctic Regions, with a History and Description of the Northern Whale Fishery (1820) / From William Scoresby Scoresby, From William 185

The Natural History of the Sperm Whale (1839) / From Thomas Beale Beale, From Thomas 197

A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean, for the Purpose of Extending the Spermaceti Whale Fisheries (1798) / From James Colnett Colnett, From James 221

Ribs and Trucks, from Davy's Locker (1842) / From Horatio Hastings Weld Weld, From Horatio Hastings 225

A New Voyage round the World (1729) / From William Dampier Dampier, From William 227

Miriam Coffin, or the Whale-Fishermen (1834) / From Joseph C. Hart Hart, From Joseph C. 231

The History of Nantucket (1835) / From Obed Macy Macy, From Obed 245

The Whale and His Captors; or, The Whaleman's Adventures, and the Whale's Biography (1850) / From Henry T. Cheever Cheever, From Henry T. 249

Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage to the Holy Land (1876) / Herman Melville Melville, Herman 259.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the John Louis Haney Fund.

ISBN:

9781440850073

1440850070

OCLC:

933272005

Publisher Number:

99967778038