This leviathan of a biography - the first half of a two-volume set
- meticulously charts the early life and career of an erratic
literary genius. Melville was born in 1819, a scion of new American
gentry. Both of his grandfathers were revered Revolutionary War
heroes, and both were wealthy. But in 1830 Melville's father went
bankrupt and - in an episode that provides Parker (English/Univ. of
Delaware) with a dramatic opening vignette - fled New York City in
disgrace, soon to die a broken man. The remaining Melvilles spent
the next 20 years pursuing financial and social redemption. Through
a painstaking collation of letters, diaries, newspaper accounts,
and other evidence, Parker sets their struggle amid a vivid
panorama of the young commercial republic, with its unprecedented
opportunities and huge risks. Parker concentrates on Melville's
adventures as a sailor and his subsequent transformation of his
experiences into prose: first, the popular South Sea adventure
tales Typee and Omoo, then the novels through Moby-Dick, published
in 1851. But Parker also devotes significant space to Melville's
family. A particular focus is older brother Gansevoort, whose
peregrinations as a Democratic party rhetorician culminated in a
government position in London, whence he helped launch Herman's
career. Parker closes this volume with an examination of Melville's
famous friendship with Hawthorne, to whom Moby-Dick was dedicated.
Parker's lifetime of Melville scholarship has eventuated in his
complete mastery of detail here, a mastery that shows to great
effect. His portrait of Melville lets intricacies shine like a
newly cleaned painting. But while Parker outlines the passions that
characterized both Melville and his times, his generally reserved
tone can take the edge off of them. Indispensable for all serious
Melvillians, whether professional or amateur, but given its
measured approach and its heft, not a likely avenue for the
uninitiated. (Kirkus Reviews)
Herman Melville: The Contemporary Reviews reprints virtually all the known contemporary reviews of his writings from the 1840s until his death in 1891. Many of the reviews are reprinted from hard-to-locate contemporary newspapers and periodicals. These materials document the response of the reviewers to specific works and show the course of Melville's nineteenth century reputation as travel writer, romancer, short-story writer, and poet.
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