Novelist · 1819 – 1891
Herman Melville
Little-Known Facts
- He sailed on a whaling ship and once jumped ship to live briefly among Pacific islanders.
- When he died, an obituary misspelled the title of Moby-Dick, so little remembered was he.
Myths & Misconceptions
Was Moby-Dick successful when published?
No — it sold poorly and was dismissed by many critics; its status as a masterpiece came only decades after Melville's death.