Moby-Dick

Moby-Dick begins with a young man who asks to be called Ishmael heading to sea to escape his restlessness. In New Bedford he befriends Queequeg, a harpooner from the South Seas, and the two sign on to the Nantucket whaling ship Pequod. Only once the voyage is under way does the ship's captain, Ahab, appear on deck and reveal his true purpose: to hunt down the great white whale that took his leg on an earlier voyage. The crew, including the cautious first mate Starbuck, is drawn into his quest across the world's oceans.

Melville mixes adventure with an astonishing range of other forms: sermons, stage-like scenes, soliloquies, and detailed chapters on whales, whaling and the work of the ship. The book asks large questions about obsession, fate, the limits of knowledge and humanity's place in nature, while also offering humour, warmth and friendship across cultures. Readers who accept its digressions find one of the most ambitious and original novels ever written.

The novel appeared in 1851, first in London under the title The Whale and shortly afterwards in New York as Moby-Dick. It sold poorly and puzzled many reviewers, and Melville died in relative obscurity. In the early twentieth century critics rediscovered it, and it is now widely considered one of the great American novels. It has inspired films, stage works, artworks and countless references in popular culture.

Moby-Dick is a classic by Herman Melville, first published in 1851. On BookClassics you can read it free online in English. A free audio excerpt is also available. You may also like Bartleby, the Scrivener, Billy Budd and Other Prose Pieces and Typee.

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