Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile

The authoritative edition of Melville's only historical novel

Based on the life of an actual soldier who claimed to have fought at Bunker Hill, Israel Potter is unique among Herman Melville's books- a novel in the guise of a biography. In telling the story of Israel Potter's fall from Revolutionary War hero to peddler on the streets of London, where he obtained a livelihood by crying 'Old Chairs to Mend,' Melville alternated between invented scenes and historical episodes, granting cameos to such famous men of the era as Benjamin Franklin (Potter may have been his secret courier) and John Paul Jones, and providing a portrait of the American Revolution as the rollicking adventure and violent series of events that it really was.

This edition of Israel Potter, which reproduces the definitive text, includes selections from Potter's autobiography, Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter, the basis for Melville's novel.

Herman Melville was born on 1st August 1819. He went on his first sea voyage in 1839 as cabin boy on the St Lawrence bound for Liverpool. He later became a teacher before taking to the seas again on the Achushnet. On this voyage he abandoned ship and lived among the natives of the Marquesas Islands for some time. This sojourn inspired his books Typee and Omoo which were published to great success. He became close friends with the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, to whom he dedicated Moby-Dick. Moby-Dick and his later works and poetry were not particularly successful in his lifetime. Moby-Dick did not sell out its first print run of 3,000 copies. It was not until the 1920s that his work was properly appreciated. Moby-Dick is now considered one of the most important American novels of all time. Melville died on 28th September 1891.

The authoritative edition of Melvilleas only historical novel Based on the life of an actual soldier who claimed to have fought at Bunker Hill, "Israel Potter" is unique among Herman Melvilleas books: a novel in the guise of a biography. In telling the story of Israel Potteras fall from Revolutionary War hero to peddler on the streets of London, where he obtained a livelihood by crying aOld Chairs to Mend, a Melville alternated between invented scenes and historical episodes, granting cameos to such famous men of the era as Benjamin Franklin (Potter may have been his secret courier) and John Paul Jones, and providing a portrait of the American Revolution as the rollicking adventure and violent series of events that it really was. This edition of "Israel Potter," which reproduces the definitive text, includes selections from Potteras autobiography, "Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter," the basis for Melvilleas novel.

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