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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life Paperback - 2003

by Herman Melville; G. Thomas Tanselle (Editor); Harrison Hayford (Editor)


Summary

Typee is a fictional, but heavily autobiographical book by Herman Melville. Based on his own three weeks as a captive on Nuku Hiva, Melville's protagonist spends four months trapped on the island. Melville also fleshed out the story with details provided by contemporary explorers. The book was his most popular during his lifetime and provided significant groundwork for later tales of European and Pacific cultures meeting.

From the publisher

Almost from the time of its publication in 1846, Melville's first book, based on his own travels in the South Seas, has been recognized as a classic in the literature of travel and adventure. Although initially rejected as too fantastic to be true, Typee was immensely popular and regarded in Melville's lifetime as his best work. It established his reputation as the literary discoverer of the South Seas and inspired the likes of Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson. Two common sailors jump ship and are held in benign captivity by Polynesian natives. Through the narrator's eyes we see a literate (if romanticized) portrait of the people and their culture presented in vivid, even scientific, detail. Melville's racy style and irreverence toward Christian missionaries caused a scandal, and critics denounced the narrator's suggestion that the native life might be superior to that of modern civilization. An adventure story above all, albeit one with a philosophical bent, Typee is a combination of elements that even early in Melville's career hinted at the towering ambition he would fulfill with Moby-Dick.

First line

SIX months at sea!

Details

  • Title Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life
  • Author Herman Melville; G. Thomas Tanselle (Editor); Harrison Hayford (Editor)
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: first
  • Pages 271
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Northwestern University Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
  • Date September 1, 2003
  • Features Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780810120525 / 0810120526
  • Weight 0.74 lbs (0.34 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.44 x 5.56 x 0.65 in (21.44 x 14.12 x 1.65 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Adventure fiction, Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2003052670
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • Library Journal, 03/15/2004, Page 0

About the author

HERMAN MELVILLE (1819-1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick. His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, becoming a bestseller), and after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America.
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)

by Melville, Herman; Tanselle, G. Thomas [Editor]; Hayford, Harrison [Editor]; Parker, Hershel [Editor];

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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

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Typee : A Peep at Polynesian Life

Typee : A Peep at Polynesian Life

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Typee : A Peep at Polynesian Life
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Typee : A Peep at Polynesian Life
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Typee : A Peep at Polynesian Life

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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)

by Melville, Herman; Tanselle, G. Thomas [Editor]; Hayford, Harrison [Editor]; Parker, Hershel [Editor];

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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)

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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

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Typee (Writings of Herman Melville)
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Typee (Writings of Herman Melville)

by Melville, Herman

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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)
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Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (Melville)

by Herman Melville, G. Thomas Tanselle (Editor), Harrison Hayford (Editor), Hershel Parker (Editor)

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