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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The untold story of Herman Melville’s affair with a shockingly unconventional—and married—woman named Sarah Morewood, whose anarchic spirit inspired Moby-Dick, one of the most canonical works in American literary history
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. He never recovered from the setback, and by the end of his life in 1891, he was a forgotten man. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he did not make much effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his “wicked book.”
In Melville in Love, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell the story of Melville’s passionate, obsessive, and clandestine affair with a married woman named Sarah Morewood, whose libertine impulses encouraged and sustained his own. Following Melville’s paper trail, Shelden found previously unexplored documents and clues revealing that, in their shared resistance to the “iron rule” of social conformity, Morewood and Melville had forged an illicit and enduring romantic and intellectual bond.
Melville, who wanted nothing less than to write a book worthy of an American Shakespeare, turned to Sarah Morewood—then regarded as a literary light in the Berkshires—for conversation about his ambitions, and her appreciation and expectations for his work tempted him to strive for greatness. Emboldened by the thrill of courting Morewood in secret, the pleasure of falling in love, and the excitement of spending time with neighboring 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, for the first time, the gripping account of how one of our greatest novelists found his muse and restores Sarah Morewood to her rightful place in the lore of Moby-Dick’s creation.
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.
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. 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 # 9780062418982
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