Reading Melville's Pierre; Or, the Ambiguities

by Higgins, Brian; Parker, Hershel

• ISBN13: 9780807132265
• ISBN10: 0807132268
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-01
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr

Summary

This engaging new study uses biographical evidence to explore Pierre, the puzzling novel that Herman Melville wrote immediately after the publication of Moby-Dick. Parker and Higgins reveal that Melville drastically altered the end of the novel after a troubling meeting with his publisher and editor about the perceived failure of Moby-Dick. Melville re-wrote Pierre's protagonist as a writer and used the novel to attack the publishing industry. Parker and Higgins' exploration into Pierre shows that this is a deeply flawed novel, but an intriguing and revealing glimpse into the mind of an American literary giant.

Author Biography

Brian Higgins is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Toward a Kraken Book	p. 1
"This dream-house of the earth": Books I and II	p. 32
"The flowing river in the cave of man": Books III-V	p. 57
"The manly enthusiast cause'': Books VI-XII	p. 81
The Pamphlet and the City: The Kraken Ending	p. 112
Cobbling the Harper Pierre: January-February 1852	p. 144
Aftermath	p. 175
Faltering Recognition	p. 188
Work Cited	p. 213
Index	p. 219
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