Written By Herman Melville
Narrated By Jim Meskimen
Forward By Paul Harding
Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
Release Date: 02-28-16
Print Pub: Orison Books
REVIEWS
"Herman Melville had met Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 and recognized him instantly as a literary soulmate. Melville’s letters . . . show a rapport and intimacy that go beyond simple mutual respect."
-Publishers Weekly review of The Divine Magnet
The Divine Magnet: Herman Melville's Letters To Nathaniel Hawthorne
SUMMARY
“The divine magnet is in you, and my magnet responds. Which is the biggest? A foolish question—they are one.” —Melville to Hawthorne
If you don’t know Melville’s letters to Hawthorne, you don’t know Melville. These letters are full of passion, humor, doubt, and spiritual yearning, and offer an intimate view of Melville’s personality. Lyrical and effusive, they are literary works in themselves. This correspondence has been out of print for decades, and even when it was in print it appeared in scholarly volumes of Melville’s complete correspondence, aimed at the academy. The Divine Magnet will provide the general literary public as well as the college classroom with a reliable and beautifully produced volume of Melville’s letters to Hawthorne, along with supplemental material, highlighting the relationship between these luminaries of American letters.
