

and surviving crew members used three small boats that were aboard the Essex to stay afloat. “They escaped in leaky lifeboats”Įssex met his fate in the South Pacific 202 years ago after being struck by a capsize. Other influences included the true story of an albino whale, Mocha Dick.īut most interestingly, it was inspired by Pollard Jr, the Nantucket-born whaling captain who during his career captained the ships The Essex and Two Brother, both of which sank. The New York-born author took about 18 months to complete it and drew on Melville’s own experiences as a sailor between 18.
CAPTAIN GEORGE POLLARD HOW TO
Read: How to save on gasoline and diesel: tricks that drivers do not know But the story of the sailor Ishmael and the search, with the haunting Captain Ahab, for the beast that bit his knee endured through the next century. Lawrence perhaps best summed up Moby Dick when he described it as “one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world.”Īt the time of its release, the book was considered a commercial failure and was out of print until Melville’s death some 40 years after its publication. Written by Herman Melville in 1851, Moby Dick, or The Whale as it is often called, is considered by many to be one of the most influential novels in history.Īcclaimed the world over, iconic English author D. Just over 30 years later, the events of that harrowing day became the story behind one of America’s most beloved stories, Moby Dick. was its captain and, in a harrowing encounter, ran into a monstrous 80-tonne sperm whale some 3,200 km off the west coast of South America. On November 20, 1820, the Essex, an American whaling ship that had set sail a year earlier from the scenic center of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts, sank. A once-in-a-lifetime disaster off the coast of South America 200 years ago is said to have inspired Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick.
