Synopses & Reviews
The letters by and to Melville in this volume extend from letters he wrote at the age of nine in 1828 to ones he sent and received during the year before his death at seventy-two in 1891. To fill the gaps within the correspondence, 542 editorial entries are chronologically interspersed for letters both by and to Melville for which no full text has been located but for which some evidence survives.
This scholarly edition presents a text as close to the author's intention as his difficult handwriting or other surviving evidence permits. Fifty-two newly discovered letters by Melville, more than half of which are presented here for the first time, are added to those printed in the 1960 edition. This text is an Approved Text of the Center for Editions of American Authors (Modern Language Association of America).
About the Author
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 - September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick. His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, becoming a bestseller), and after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America.
Table of Contents
bbreviations and Short Titles
Notes on the Illustrations
Melville's Letters
1820's
1830's
1840's
1850's
1860's
1870's
1880's
1890's
Undated Letters
Principal Persons and Places
Letters Received
1830's
1840's
1850's
1860's
1870's
1890's
Undated Letters
Editorial Appendix
Historical Note
Note on the Text
Conjectural and Alternate Readings
Melville's Hand
Related Documents
A Possible Melville Letter
Two Letters Concerning Melville
Calendar of Melville's Correspondence
Index