“It is the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships’ cables and hawsers. A Polar wind blows through it, and birds of prey hover over it.”

So Melville wrote of his masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imaginations in literary history. In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author’s lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.

This edition of Moby-Dick, which reproduces the definitive text of the novel, includes invaluable explanatory notes, along with maps, illustrations, and a glossary of nautical terms.

Young Adult Mag: You draw on a number of different sources of inspiration for Moby Dick. Could you tell us about some of them?

Herman Melville: I was inspired by my own experiences whaling and wanted to create a work of fiction that drew from that first hand knowledge. I also took much inspiration from Shakespeare.

YA: Yes, in fact there are portions of your novel that are written like a play. Why did you make that choice?

HM: I felt that using Shakespearean stage directions would give the reader a particular view of the ship that could be achieved by no other means, as well as position characters in relation to one another that conveyed particular meaning in regard to their social standing.

YA: What do you think about the film adaptations of your work?

HM: I don’t particularly care for them. I feel that this work is not meant to be digested in a visual way. I believe my use of language and various styles of writing are what makes it such a notable read.

YA: In a word, what would you say is the theme of Moby Dick?

HM: There are many themes. But if I can only pick one, I would say obsession.