Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* As he did in Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill (2013), accomplished biographer Shelden tracks the hidden impact of romance on his subject, this time the enigmatic author of Moby-Dick. Scholars have speculated that Melville left New York City for a Berkshires farm he could ill afford in 1850 to be close to Nathaniel Hawthorne, with whom, the theory goes, he was in love (see Mark Beauregard's The Whale, 2016). Shelden argues that forbidden passion did, indeed, inspire Melville's move with his pragmatic wife, young son, domineering mother, and three sisters but that his ardor was for another neighbor, Sarah Morewood. Beautiful, vivacious, intellectual, and married to a wealthy, often-absent English businessman, Morewood reveled in the glorious countryside and reigned supreme as a daringly unconventional and mischievous ringleader, organizing extravagant parties and pleasure excursions. The profound, secret love between her and Melville was fueled by her unique appreciation for his radical artistic vision, which evolved, Shelden argues, in the heat of their love affair. Shelden presents the evidence gleaned through his assiduous research and performs a delving and convincing analysis of the sexual wellspring of Moby-Dick's violent energy and tragic majesty. Riveting in its incandescent sense of discovery, intimacy, and velocity, Shelden's bound-to-be-controversial anatomy of a clandestine love transforms our perception of Melville and introduces one of the great unsung figures in literary history. --Seaman, Donna Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Shelden (Pulitzer finalist for Orwell: The Authorized Biography) theorizes, skillfully but unconvincingly, that Herman Melville had an affair with his next-door neighbor, Sarah Morewood, in Pittsfield, Mass. Morewood, who like Melville was married, was well known for her wit and beauty. Focusing on the years from 1850 to 1852, Shelden posits her as Melville's great love, and describes their relationship as a guiding force in the creation of Moby-Dick and even a factor in its tepid original reception from critics. Written with novelistic period detail and peopled with convincingly reanimated historical characters, this short book nonetheless feels overextended. The middle portion departs from the central relationship as Morewood goes off to England and Melville hunkers down to finish Moby-Dick, published in 1851. Shelden uses this interlude to explore painter J.M.W. Turner`s influence on Moby-Dick and Melville's friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although Shelden claims to have found a "long trail of clues" about Melville and Morewood's connection, his argument relies too heavily on inference, interpretation, and literary exegesis. A costume party, a Christmas dinner laurel ceremony, and a scandalous mixed-sex camping excursion are all scoured for any telling details. The book is an engaging and creative recreation, but the accuracy of Shelden's conclusions remains suspect. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
What a scandalous surprise author -Shelden's (Orwell: The Authorized Biography) biography will be for anyone who thinks of Herman Melville as just a stately old man with a bushy beard. Using newly discovered archival materials, Shelden relates the adulterous love affair between Melville and Sarah Morewood. He suggests both Moby-Dick and Pierre were heavily influenced by the 19th-century novelist's relationship with Morewood. The courtship was suspected by most and acknowledged by none. Both Melville and Morewood were married during their long-term affair that produced two children and sunk Melville deep into debt in order to be near his mistress. Morewood's early death from consumption sent Melville into a spiral of grief and depression that came close to ruining his family. Shelden carefully and convincingly presents his evidence regarding Morewood's influence and how she inspired Melville to a greatness recognized by few of his peers. The boldness of the lovers is shocking as are the repercussions. Endnotes and a thorough bibliography support Shelden's research and offer further avenues of exploration. VERDICT Written for a general audience, this well-paced, enjoyable read is a must for Melville fans.-Stefanie Hollmichel, Univ. of St. Thomas Law Lib., -Minneapolis © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
How a secret love affair inflamed Herman Melville's fiction. Biographer Shelden (Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill, 2013, etc.) claims that Melville's novels, including Moby-Dick, were inspired by his love for Sarah Anne Morewood, his attractive, young, married neighbor. This passionate relationship, he argues, stands as "the powerful key to unlocking his secrets," although nearly every other Melville biographer has ignored it. Melville and Morewood met in 1850, when both were summering in the Berkshires, where she had bought property. Soon after, Melville borrowed money from his father-in-law to acquire a tract of land adjacent to the Morewoods' and moved his family from New York. There, "in the grip of his own obsession," he wrote feverishly about an obsessed captain's hunt for an elusive whale. The novel, Shelden argues, "is the result of the author's own extended dive into the depths of his life." Morewood, pretty, restless, and flirtatious, sounds like a version of Madame Bovary. Leaving her boring husband to his business, she loved hiking, parties, and champagne. The famed physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, also an admirer of hers, observed her effect on Melville. Holmes' novel Elsie Venner, "a tale of characters searching for love and willing to do anything for it," offered a "revealing glimpse into Melville's secret life." Shelden argues that Melville himself exposed the affair in Pierre, about "an idealistic youth whose life is forever changed by his romance with a dark, mysterious beauty" who claims to be his secret half sister and lures him away from his "uncomplicated" girlfriend, just as Morewood lured Melville away from his wife. The emotionally fraught novel, with its inexplicable theme of incest, proved too much for readers and ended Melville's trajectory to fame. Shelden bases his conclusions on correspondence and archival research but often conjectures about what "must have" occurred. Nonetheless, he offers a provocative portrait of the canonical writer and his world. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
