“A sense of unspeakable security is in me this moment, on account of your having understood the book. I have written a wicked book, and feel spotless as the lamb. Ineffable socialities are in me. I would sit down and dine with you and all the gods in old Rome’s Pantheon.”
A letter from Herman Melville to Nathaniel Hawthorne, after Hawthorne praised Moby Dick, which was published in the UK 161 years ago. Melville would later dedicate the book to Hawthorne.
Google’s homepage doodle today honors the classic American novel.
If you would like to see a first edition of Moby Dick, contact Special Collections and we’ll get it out of the vault for you to peruse.
