<p>The inaugural volume of The Library of America presents one of America’s greatest writers, Herman Melville (1819–1891). These three early novels are stirring romances of the South Seas; many of their fictional details resemble some of the events in Melville’s own life in the early 1840s. Like the hero-narrator of Typee and Omoo , Melville shipped out on a whaler, jumped ship in exotic ports, was held captive by native tribes—though here he might have exaggerated his own exploits a bit—and escaped to find passage home in the service of the United States Navy.Exuberant, highly pictorial, with a clear, swift narrative, Typee (1846) was his most popular work well into the 20th century, outselling all his others, including Moby-Dick. It offers a mostly idyllic account of life among the “cannibals” in which civilized innocence is contrasted with the corrosive effects of 19th-century industrial society.A sequel to Typee , Omoo (1847) continues this inquiry into Pacific culture and those who intruded upon it, specifically in Tahiti. Melville details the misadventures of the unruly and overworked crew of the Australian trader Julia after they are imprisoned for insubordination; the story will perhaps surprise today’s readers with its humor.With Mardi (1849), Melville abandons a literary Polynesia for a mythical one. “Mardi” is the Polynesian word for “the world,” and the voyage through imaginary South Sea archipelagoes stops off at Dominora (Britain), Porpheero (Europe), and Vivenza (the United States). Tracing the quest for the elusive and beautiful Yillah, it remains a timely political allegory and a thrilling adventure.Together, these three romances give early evidence of the genius and daring that make Melville the master novelist of the sea and a precursor of modernist literature.</p>

Herman Melville: Typee, Omoo, Mardi

HERMAN, MELVILLE

Library of America

The Portrait of a Lady

Literature & Fiction

JAMES,HENRY

Classics

The Rise of Silas Lapham: An Authoritative Text, Composition and Backgrounds, Contemporary Responses, Criticism

Howells, William Dean.

History

Complete poetry and collected prose (The Library of America)

WHITMAN, WALT

History & Criticism

France and England in North America: Vol II: Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV, A Half-Century of Conflict, Montcalm and Wolfe (The Library of America)

Francis, Parkman

Henry James : Literary Criticism -- Essays on Literature, American Writers, English Writers (The Library of America) (v. 1)

The Red Badge of Courage

CRANE, STEPHEN

William Dean Howells : Novels 1886-1888 : The Minister's Charge / April Hopes / Annie Kilburn (Library of America)

Arts & Photography

Autobiographies : Narrative of the Life, My Bondage and My Freedom (ISBN:1883011302)

DOUGLASS, FREDERICK

Literary Criticism: Essays on Literature, American Writers, English Writers

Literary

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Library of America publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Library of America