Moby Dick is not only Herman Melville’s most recognised work, it is one of the most famous novels in the English language.The style of the book was revolutionary in its day, knowing no boundaries in language or narrative. It can be viewed as an epic sea adventure, a critique of class and prejudice, an in-depth guide to whaling, and even a philosophical debate on the nature of good and evil.

Melville’s father was a much travelled merchant and it was probably his tales that planted the seed of adventure in his impressionable son. His father’s premature death meant that Herman went to work at an early age. His sense of adventure and a desire to be financially independent drew him to the sea and between 1839 and 1844 he spent time as cabin boy, harpooner, and ordinary seaman. This time at sea would provide him with the inspiration to begin writing. His first two novels, Typee (1846) and its sequel Omoo would establish his name in the literary world.

Settling in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1850, Melville worked on the novel that would eventually become Moby Dick. He became friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne, a writer whose new gothic psychological style would encourage Melville to expand the horizons of his new book.

The plot of Moby Dick was partly inspired by the sinking of the Essex, a whaling ship that had sailed out of Nantucket in 1820, and had been attacked by an 80 ton sperm whale off the coast of South America. Melville was also aware of an albino sperm whale, Mocha Dick, which lived near Mocha, an island off the southern coast of Chile. Mocha Dick had escaped whalers on many occasions and despite numerous harpoons in its back would ferociously attack whaling ships.

For Moby Dick Melville drew inspiration from a variety of literary sources including Shakespeare, Milton and the Old Testament. He also referred to whaling books such as Natural History of the Sperm Whale and Etchings of a Whaling Cruise. However, when Moby Dick was published whaling was on the decline. The quarry was nearing extinction, and whale oil was being replaced by alternatives.

En route to Britain where the book was first published in 1851, the final few pages of the manuscript were damaged. Inexplicably the publishers went ahead and printed what remained. Consequently, readers were not aware that Ishmael, the narrator, survives. Not surprisingly the book was criticised for the apparent unfinished ending. Despite the complete book being published in America a month later, the British reviews of the book were still used.

In fact, less than four thousand copies were sold during Melville’s lifetime and sales ground to a halt in 1853 when the printing plates and many unsold copies were destroyed in a fire. Bizarrely, Melville’s publishers refused to allow the novel to be reprinted.

In response Melville created work further from the mainstream, eventually giving up the novel for poetry. His literary favour continued to wane and eventually he was forced to turn to other methods of earning a living. So began a twenty year career as a customs inspector on the New York docks, but he continued to write up until his death in 1891, an event which went largely unnoticed at the time.