Melville Publishes Moby-Dick: A Literary Masterpiece Emerges
Herman Melville published Moby-Dick, launching a monomaniacal quest that would eventually define American Romanticism despite its initial commercial failure. The novel's reputation exploded in the twentieth century, earning praise from heavyweights like William Faulkner and D.H. Lawrence who hailed it as the greatest sea story ever written. This enduring legacy cemented "Call me Ishmael" as one of literature's most recognizable opening lines.
November 14, 1851
175 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on November 14
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French Marshals Victor and Oudinot suffer a sharp defeat at the Battle of Smoliani against General Peter Wittgenstein's Russian forces. This loss halts Napoleon…
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick was published in the United States by Harper & Brothers, a week after its British edition appeared as The Whale. The novel sold poor…
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