Best of Melville (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Whaling obsessions and South Pacific odysseys: Moby-Dick, Typee, The Piazza Tales, The Confidence-Man, plus D. H. Lawrence's critiqueBy Herman Melville
Length57h 46m
About this audiobook
Best of Melville gathers the essential range of Herman Melville's achievement, from maritime adventure and metaphysical quest to satirical sketches and dark moral inquiry. Whether represented by the oceanic vastness of Moby-Dick, the haunting ambiguity of "Bartleby, the Scrivener," or the disciplined tragic force of Billy Budd, Melville's prose joins biblical cadence, Shakespearean intensity, philosophical speculation, and precise nautical realism. The collection situates him within American Romanticism while revealing how persistently he unsettled its confidence in providence, progress, and the heroic self. Melville's writing emerged from a life unusually rich in experience and disillusion. Born in New York in 1819, he worked at sea as a young man, voyaging in the Pacific and encountering the social, imperial, and spiritual contradictions that would animate his fiction. Commercial success came early, but his more ambitious works baffled many contemporaries, leaving him neglected for decades before twentieth-century critics recognized his extraordinary modernity. This volume is recommended to readers seeking a concentrated encounter with one of America's most challenging and visionary writers. It offers adventure, psychological depth, theological unease, and stylistic grandeur in equal measure.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- An Introduction draws the threads together, discussing why these diverse authors and texts belong in one collection.
- Historical Context explores the cultural and intellectual currents that shaped these works, offering insight into the shared (or contrasting) eras that influenced each writer.
- A combined Synopsis (Selection) briefly outlines the key plots or arguments of the included pieces, helping readers grasp the anthology's overall scope without giving away essential twists.
- A collective Analysis highlights common themes, stylistic variations, and significant crossovers in tone and technique, tying together writers from different backgrounds.
- Reflection questions encourage readers to compare the different voices and perspectives within the collection, fostering a richer understanding of the overarching conversation.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length57 hrs 46 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateSep 20, 2013
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 1)
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6Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 2)
7Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 3)
8Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 4)
9Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 5)
10Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 6)
11Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 7)
12Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 8)
13Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 9)
14Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 10)
15Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 11)
16Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 12)
17Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 13)
18Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 14)
19Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 15)
20Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 16)
21Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 17)
22Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 18)
23Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 19)
24Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 20)
25Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 21)
26Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 22)
27Best of Melville: Moby-Dick + D. H. Lawrence's critique of Moby-Dick + Typee + The Piazza Tales (The Piazza + Bartleby + Benito Cereno + The Lightning-Rod Man + The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles + The Bell-Tower) + The Confidence-Man (pt. 23)
28Analysis
29Reflection
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