TheCambridge Introduction to Hermann Melville

Traveling from Pittsfield,Massachusetts to Albany,New York oneNovember to
spend Thanksgiving with his family, HermanMelville, at eighteen, had time to
reflect on his personal situation. Born in New York City on 1 August 1819, he
had enjoyed a comfortable boyhood, but reverses in his father’s business during
Herman’s adolescence had forced the family to relocate to Albany, where his
father fared no better. Overambitious schemes and overextended credit took
their toll.He died a broken