検索キーワード： 著者 "Herman Melville" すべてのカテゴリー

The outcast youth Ishmael, succumbing to wanderlust during a dreary New England autumn, signs up for passage aboard a whaling ship. The Pequod sails under the command of the one-legged Captain Ahab, who has set himself on a monomaniacal quest to capture the cunning white whale that robbed him of his leg: Moby-Dick. Capturing life on the sea with robust realism, Melville details the adventures of the colorful crew aboard the ship as Ahab pursues his crusade of revenge, heedless of all cost.

Moby-Dick is widely considered to be the Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story details the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whale ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale: Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. And Ahab intends to take revenge.

"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.

The Ultimate Classics Collection: Volume One is a continent-hopping, century-spanning collection of 15 essential classic novels by British, American, and Russian authors, read by a cast of incredible narrators including Stephen Fry, Jason Isaacs, Adjoa Andoh, David Rintoul, and many more. Included here are stories by some of the greatest writers of all time, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky; Charles Dickens; Franz Kafka; Herman Melville; Leo Tolstoy, amongst a host of others.

Ignoring prophecies of doom, the seafarer Ishmael joins the crew of a whaling expedition that is an obsession for the ship's captain, Ahab. Once maimed by the White Whale, Moby Dick, Ahab has set out on a voyage of revenge. With godlike ferocity, he surges into dangerous waters - immune to the madness of his vision, refusing to be bested by the forces of nature.

A quiet unassuming scrivener is hired by a successful Wall Street law firm, but his strange demeanor is an unwelcome presence.

The American Classics Collection is a century-spanning collection of 17 classic novels, short stories, essay, and poetry by American authors, read by a cast of incredible narrators including Kobna Holdbrook-Smith; Nathan Osgood; Robert G. Slade; Jonathan Keeble, and more. Included here are stories by some of the greatest writers of all time, including Ernest Hemingway; Mark Twain; F. Scott Fitzgerald; Edith Wharton; Frederick Douglass; and H.P. Lovecraft, amongst a host of others.

Herman Melville’s tale of corporate discontent, Bartleby, the Scrivener, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. The business where he works handles the official financial paperwork of wealthy men. One day, Bartleby’s employer requests he proofread one of the documents he has copied. Bartleby declines the assignment with the inscrutable “I would prefer not,” the first of what will become many refusals.

Ismael, un joven con experiencia en la marina mercante, decide que su siguiente viaje será en un ballenero. El joven entabla amistad con el arponero Queequeg, con quien se enrola en el Pequod, dirigido por el misterioso y autoritario capitán Ahab, un viejo lobo de mar con una pierna construida con la mandíbula de un cachalote.

The book is sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee.

In Manhattan, an elderly lawyer's business is growing. Having two scriveners in his employ, the lawyer advertises for a third to meet demand. Enter Bartleby, a glum albeit quality scrivener. However, the lawyer quickly discovers that something is off with his new employee. When asked to perform any duties outside of writing, Bartleby responds with a canned "I would prefer not to." Soon Bartleby is living at the office and performing less and less at work.

The life of a Scrivener can be a dull one. After all, your entire occupation has to do with the handwritten copying of law documents. But when Bartleby arrives, he turns the office upside down with the enigmatic phrase: “I prefer not to.”

Narrated by Ishmael, the novel follows the whaling ship Pequod as it sails under the command of Captain Ahab—a man consumed by his relentless pursuit of a massive white sperm whale that once destroyed his leg. What begins as a maritime voyage unfolds into a profound exploration of obsession, fate, nature, and the limits of human will.

Billy Budd, a handsome sailor working on a British naval ship in the eighteenth century, is falsely accused of mutiny against the ship’s captain by the master-at-arms, John Claggart. Billy, who unfortunately obtains a speech impediment, is overcome by the accusation and unable to verbally defend himself against Claggart’s unfounded hate for him. Instead, he lashes out at Claggart, much to his own demise. An instant classic once published, Billy Budd is a tragic tale that has been adapted into film, plays and even an opera. This audiobook edition is narrated by the talented Christopher Ragland.

Written some 40 years after Moby Dick, Melville's Billy Budd is a moving tale of good versus evil. Set aboard a British navy ship at the end of the eighteenth century, a young, innocent sailor's charm and good nature put the men around him at ease. Ship life agreed with Billy. He made friends quickly and was well liked, which infuriated John Claggart, the ship's cold-blooded superior officer.

Pierre Glendinning is the 19-year-old heir to the manor at Saddle Meadows in upstate New York. Engaged to the blonde Lucy Tartan in a match approved by his domineering mother, Pierre encounters the dark and mysterious Isabel Banford, who claims to be his half sister, the illegitimate and orphaned child of his father and a European refugee. Driven by his magnetic attraction to Isabel, Pierre devises a remarkable scheme to preserve his father's name, spare his mother's grief, and give Isabel her share of the estate.

Dive into the heart of the sea with Moby-Dick, a timeless tale of adventure, obsession, and the relentless pursuit of the unattainable. Written by one of the greatest literary minds, this audiobook captures the riveting journey of Ishmael, a wanderer who joins the crew of the whaling ship Pequod. Led by the enigmatic and vengeful Captain Ahab, the ship's mission becomes a perilous chase for the elusive white whale, Moby Dick—a creature as mysterious as the ocean itself.

Herman Melville's life and writings continue to resonate with readers, inviting them into a world of adventure, philosophy, and introspection. His works inspire deep reflection on the human condition and the mysteries of existence. Melville's legacy as a literary pioneer, exploring the depths of the human psyche and confronting existential questions, remains enduring. His contribution to American literature and his ability to capture the essence of human experience make him a figure of profound significance in literary history.

The tale is one of the final works of fiction published by Melville before, slipping into despair over the continuing critical dismissal of his work after Moby-Dick, he abandoned publishing fiction. The work is presented here exactly as it was originally published in Putnam's magazine to, sadly, critical disdain.

Herman Melville was born in New York City on 1st August 1819. His father died when he was 12, leaving the family in very straitened times. Two years later Melville took a job in a bank and followed up with a failed stint as a surveyor. He went to sea and travelled across to Liverpool and then to the Pacific on adventures. Presented here is perhaps his best known short story, ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener’, an enduring story of a Wall Street lawyer and his very particular assistant.