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A new account of Herman Melville and the writing of Moby-Dick, written by a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Biography and based on fresh archival research, which reveals that the anarchic spirit animating Melville's canonical work was inspired by his great love affair with a shockingly unconventional married woman.
Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his "wicked book." Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.
In Melville in Love Pulitzer Prize-finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell a story of Melville's passionate, obsessive, and clandestine affair with a married woman named Sarah Morewood, whose libertine impulses encouraged and sustained Melville's own. In his research, Shelden discovered unexplored documents suggesting that, in their shared resistance to the "iron rule" of social conformity, Sarah and Melville had forged an illicit and enduring romantic and intellectual bond. Emboldened by the thrill of courting Sarah in secret, the pleasure of falling in love, and the excitement of spending time with literary luminaries--like Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Nathaniel Hawthorne--Melville found the courage to take the leap from light works of adventure to the hugely brilliant, utterly subversive Moby-Dick.
Filled with the rich detail and immense drama of Melville's secret life, Melville in Love tells the gripping story of how one of our greatest novelists found his muse.
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Review:
"A proto-feminist woman of letters, impresario and poet in her own right, Morewood strikes us in Shelden's account as a person of imagination and courage straining against the socially imposed constrictions of her time."--The Washington Post
"A masterpiece. . . . He visually escorts the reader into the mindset and emotional life of one of the most renowned literary giants. Without a doubt this biography is capable of captivating generations of readers and writers[and] inspir[ing] them to pursue their own creative endeavors."--New York Journal of Books
"[Shelden] offers a provocative portrait of the canonical writer and his world."--Kirkus
"A scandalous surprise... Shelden carefully and convincingly presents his evidence regarding Morewood's influence and how she inspired Melville to a greatness recognized by few of his peers... This well-paced, enjoyable read is a must for Melville fans."--Library Journal
"MELVILLE IN LOVE is a beautifully written, captivating story that may also be one of the most surprising literary revelations of our time."--BookPage
"Outstanding."--Bookreporter
"It took the world decades to recognize Melvillle as a great writer. Thanks to Michael Shelden, we finally know Melville as a husband, father, son, friend, and lover. A brilliant and heart-breaking story."--Eve LaPlante, author of Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
"A mesmerizing portrait... The hitherto hidden tale of these unconventional lovers is a deep and revelatory pleasure."--Elle
"Riveting in its incandescent sense of discovery, intimacy, and velocity, Shelden's bound-to-be-controversial anatomy of a clandestine love transforms our perception of Melville and introduces "one of the great unsung figures in literary history."--Booklist, Starred Review
"Written with novelistic period detail and peopled with convincingly reanimated historical characters... The book is an engaging and creative recreation."--Publishers Weekly
About the Author:
"A masterpiece. . . . He visually escorts the reader into the mindset and emotional life of one of the most renowned literary giants. Without a doubt this biography is capable of captivating generations of readers and writers[and] inspir[ing] them to pursue their own creative endeavors."--New York Journal of Books
"[Shelden] offers a provocative portrait of the canonical writer and his world."--Kirkus
"A scandalous surprise... Shelden carefully and convincingly presents his evidence regarding Morewood's influence and how she inspired Melville to a greatness recognized by few of his peers... This well-paced, enjoyable read is a must for Melville fans."--Library Journal
"MELVILLE IN LOVE is a beautifully written, captivating story that may also be one of the most surprising literary revelations of our time."--BookPage
"Outstanding."--Bookreporter
"It took the world decades to recognize Melvillle as a great writer. Thanks to Michael Shelden, we finally know Melville as a husband, father, son, friend, and lover. A brilliant and heart-breaking story."--Eve LaPlante, author of Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
"A mesmerizing portrait... The hitherto hidden tale of these unconventional lovers is a deep and revelatory pleasure."--Elle
"Riveting in its incandescent sense of discovery, intimacy, and velocity, Shelden's bound-to-be-controversial anatomy of a clandestine love transforms our perception of Melville and introduces "one of the great unsung figures in literary history."--Booklist, Starred Review
"Written with novelistic period detail and peopled with convincingly reanimated historical characters... The book is an engaging and creative recreation."--Publishers Weekly
Michael Shelden is the author of five biographies, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Orwell: The Authorized Biography, which was also a New York Times Notable Book and has been translated into five languages. His Mark Twain: Man in White was a New York Times bestseller, and his Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill was widely praised on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a features writer for the London Daily Telegraph, served as a fiction critic for the Baltimore Sun, and has written for the Washington Post and the Times of London. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherEcco Press
- Publication date2017
- ISBN 10 0062419048
- ISBN 13 9780062419040
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages288
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A new account of Herman Melville and the writing of Moby-Dick, written by a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Biography and based on fresh archival research, which reveals that the anarchic spirit animating Melville's canonical work was inspired by his great love affair with a shockingly unconventional married woman.Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his "wicked book." Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.In Melville in Love Pulitzer Prize-finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell a story of Melville's passionate, obsessive, and clandestine affair with a married woman named Sarah Morewood, whose libertine impulses encouraged and sustained Melville's own. In his research, Shelden discovered unexplored documents suggesting that, in their shared resistance to the "iron rule" of social conformity, Sarah and Melville had forged an illicit and enduring romantic and intellectual bond. Emboldened by the thrill of courting Sarah in secret, the pleasure of falling in love, and the excitement of spending time with literary luminaries--like Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Nathaniel Hawthorne--Melville found the courage to take the leap from light works of adventure to the hugely brilliant, utterly subversive Moby-Dick.Filled with the rich detail and immense drama of Melville's secret life, Melville in Love tells the gripping story of how one of our greatest novelists found his muse. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780062419040
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