Herman Melville
(1819–1891)

Herman Melville is one of America's great novelists. Unfortunately, his work was never fully appreciated during his lifetime, and he lived a life that was often filled with frustration and despair.

Melville was born in New York City, the son of a wealthy merchant. His family's financial situation changed drastically in 1830, however, when his father's import business failed. Two years later his father died, leaving the family in debt. Forced to leave school, Melville spent the rest of his childhood working as a clerk, a farmhand, and a teacher to help support his family.

After becoming a sailor at the age of 19, Melville spent several years exploring the South Pacific. Working on a number of different whaling ships, he visited many exotic places and even spent several weeks living among natives in the Marquesas Islands. He did not return to the United States until 1844, after a brief period of service in the navy.

Using his adventures in the South Pacific as material for his novels, Melville started a new career as a writer. He quickly established himself as a popular writer with two successful novels, Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847), both set in the Pacific islands. His readers found his third novel, Mardi (1849), confusing, however, and his fame rapidly faded.

Using the profits from his novels, Melville bought a farm near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He became a close friend of Nathaniel Hawthorne, who lived in a neighboring village. Encouraged by Hawthorne's interest and influenced by his reading of Shakespeare, Melville's work became more sophisticated.

In 1851, he published his masterpiece Moby-Dick, under the title The Whale. Moby-Dick is a novel with several layers of meaning. On the surface it is the story of the fateful voyage of a whaling ship. On another level, it is the story of a bitter man's quest for vengeance and search for truth. On still another level, it is a philosophical examination of humanity's relationship to the natural world.

Unable to appreciate the novel's depth, readers responded unfavorably to Moby-Dick. They also reacted negatively to Melville's next two novels, Pierre (1852) and The Confidence Man (1859). As a result, Melville fell into debt and was forced to accept a job as an inspector at the New York customs house.

Disillusioned and bitter, Melville turned away from writing fiction during the latter part of his life. He produced only a handful of short stories and a powerful novella, Billy Bud. He died in 1891, unnoticed and unappreciated. In the 1920s, his work was rediscovered by scholars, and he finally received the recognition he deserved.

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