Raymond M. Weaver’s Herman Melville: Mariner and Mystic is a biography of the American writer Herman Melville. Drawing on letters, journals and family records, it follows his life at sea and his career as a novelist, while exploring the philosophical and mystical strains in his work. It offers useful context for readers of Moby-Dick and nineteenth-century American literature.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
HERMAN MELVILLE Mariner and Mystic RAYMOND M. WEAVER Engraved on wood, by L. F. Grant. From a photograph. signature HERMAN MELVILLE MARINER AND MYSTIC BY RAYMOND M. WEAVER leviathan attacking a ship New York George H. Doran Company COPYRIGHT, 1921,
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
colophon
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
TO
PROFESSOR FRANKLIN T. BAKER
“—il maestro cortese”
To Professor Carl Van Doren, to Miss Cora Paget, and to Mrs. Eleanor
Melville Metcalf, I am, in the writing of this book, very especially indebted. By Professor Van Doren’s enthusiasm and scholarship I was instigated to a study of Melville. It has been my privilege to enjoy
Miss Paget’s very valuable criticism and assistance throughout the preparation of this volume. Mrs. Metcalf gave me access to all the surviving records of her grandfather: Melville manuscripts, letters, journals, annotated books, photographs, and a variety of other material. But she did far more. My indebtedness to Mrs. Metcalf’s vivid interest, her shrewd insight, her keen sympathy can be stated only in superlatives. To Mrs. and Mr. Metcalf I owe one of the richest and most pleasant associations of my life.
RĵΏƽLjƿŠ M. Wŧĵ΄ŧǡ.
October 1, 1921.
Most of the letters of Melville to Hawthorne included in this volume are quoted from Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Wife, by Julian
Hawthorne. These letters, and other citations from Mr. Hawthorne’s memoir, are included through the courtesy of Messrs. Houghton
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