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Article: The man who missed the boat... Melville: His World and Work
- Article from:
- The Independent on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- January 15, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 The Independent on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Herman Melville is probably the greatest genius, wholly neglected
in his lifetime, of American culture. One wonders how many people in
contemporary America, who are not forced to study him at school or
university, actually read him today voluntarily and for pleasure. Yet
his work is, if only through the subsidiary works of art it inspired,
known and admired by millions. The recent revival of Benjamin
Britten's opera Billy Budd was a triumphant sell-out at English
National Opera last month. A film version of Melville's
claustrophobic, almost Dickensian New York parable Bartle-by the