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Encyclopedia entry: Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile
- Article from:
- The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature
- Author:
Copyright© The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature 1986, originally published by Oxford University Press 1986. (Hide copyright information)
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Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile,
romance by
Melville
, published in 1855. It is largely based on an anonymous
Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter
(1824).
Israel Potter, a New England boy, after youthful experiences as a farmer, surveyor, and peddler becomes a sailor on whaling ships. He joins the Revolutionary army in time to participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill, but is captured by the British and taken to England. There he escapes, goes to London as a laborer, is befriended by rebel agents, and joins them in secret activities. ...