Herman Melville

Typee: a Romance of the South Seas Herman Melville

Autobiographical novel set on a Pacific Island. According to Wikipedia: "Typee (1846; in full: Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life) is American writer Herman Melville's first book, partly based on his actual experiences as a captive on Nuku Hiva (which Melville spelled as Nukuheva) in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands. The title comes from the name of a valley there called Tai Pi Vai. It was Melville's most popular work during his lifetime. For 19th century readers, his career seemed to decline afterward, but during the early 20th century it was seen as just the beginning of a career that peaked with Moby-Dick (1851)... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 ? September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet. His first two books gained much attention, though they were not bestsellers, and his popularity declined precipitously after only a few years. By the time of his death he had been almost completely forgotten, but his longest novel, Moby-Dick ? largely considered a failure during his lifetime, and most responsible for Melville's fall from favor with the reading public ? was recognized in the 20th century as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature."