Bartleby the Scrivener
Written by Herman Melville
Narrated by Eric Meyers and Ghizela Rowe
4/5
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About this audiobook
At the age of 7 Melville contracted scarlet fever which permanently diminished his eyesight. Add this to a contemporary description of being "very backwards in speech and somewhat slow in comprehension" and his opportunities for success seemed limited.
His father died when he was 12 leaving the family in very straitened times. 2 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 which included a mutiny, being jailed and falling in love with a South Pacific beauty. He was also a figure of opposition to the coercion of native Hawaiians to the Christian religion. These experiences helped provide the novels ‘Typee’, ‘Omoo’, and ‘White-Jacket’.
By 1851 his ambitious masterpiece, ‘Moby Dick’, was ready to be published. It never sold out its initial print run of 3,000 and Melville’s earnings on his masterpiece was a mere $556.37.
In succeeding years his reputation waned, life was increasingly difficult. His family was growing and a stable income was essential. Melville took the advice of friends to try public lecturing, as others had, to increase his revenues. He embarked on three successful lecture tours, speaking on Roman statuary and sightseeing in Rome.
In 1876 he was at last able to publish privately his 16,000 line epic poem ‘Clarel’. It was to no avail. The book had an initial printing of 350 copies, but sales failed miserably.
It was only in late 1885 that Melville was at last able to retire after his wife inherited several legacies, enough to provide them with a reasonable income.
Herman Melville, novelist, poet, short story writer and essayist, died at his home on 28th September 1891 from cardiovascular disease.
Perhaps his best known short story is ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener’ an enduring story of a Wall Street lawyer and his very particular assistant.
Herman Melville
<p>Herman Melville nació en Nueva York en 1819, hijo de un comerciante. Muerto el padre en la ruina en 1832, tuvo que dejar la escuela y trabajar en los más diversos empleos. En 1839 se embarcó en un buque mercante, y en 1841 en un ballenero, que abandonó junto con un compañero en las Islas Marquesas, donde vivieron con una tribu caníbal. De allí fue rescatado por un ballenero australiano, del que desertó tras un motín. Después de una temporada en Honolulu, se enroló en la fragata United States y volvió a Estados Unidos en 1844. De todos estos viajes surgieron las novelas que publicaría a lo largo de los siete años siguientes: <i>Taipí</i> (1846) y <i>Omú</i> (1847; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XXXI), ambientadas en los mares del Sur; <i>Mardi</i> (1849), una fantasía alegórica; <i>Redburn</i> (1849; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XCVIII), sobre su primer viaje en un buque mercante; <i>Chaqueta Blanca</i> (1850, ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XXIV), sobre la travesía a bordo del United States; y <i>Moby Dick</i> (1851), que, pese a su actual celebridad, pasó casi inadvertida. Su obra posterior tampoco contó con las simpatías del público: <i>Pierre o las ambigüedades</i> (1852), <i>Israel Potter</i> (1855) y <i>The Confidence-Man</i> (1857) no le permitieron seguir viviendo de la literatura. Sus <i>Cuentos completos</i> se hallan reunidos en un volumen publicado por esta editorial (ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. XXXII). En 1866 consiguió un empleo de inspector de aduanas en el puerto de Nueva York. En esa ciudad murió veinticinco años después, en 1891. En 1919, un biógrafo encontró el manuscrito de <i>Billy Budd, marinero</i>, que se publicaría en 1924.</p>
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Reviews for Bartleby the Scrivener
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent narration! I listened while reading along and sometimes not, yet the narration paired with both perfectly!