Moby-Dick Reviews Archive
Browse all 125 known contemporary reviews of Moby-Dick from 1851–1852, plus key revival-era criticism. The most complete collection online.
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Philadelphia American Saturday Courier
favorable
“Decidedly the richest book out.
”
— November 22, 1851
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Boston Olive Branch
favorable
“A wild and exciting description of a whaler's life, by Herman Melville... we have no doubt it will be a popular book.
”
— November 22, 1851
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Buffalo (NY) Daily Courier
favorable
“A joyous book, full of fine witticisms, and delicate and rapid touches of humor and interest... a singular vein of graphic originality in his style both of words and thoughts.
”
— November 22, 1851
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Boston Trumpet and Universalist Magazine
favorable
“A sort of comical description of whaling, and every thing which appertains to it. Some of the descriptions are very fine.
”
— November 22, 1851
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Syracuse (NY) Daily Standard
favorable
“Melville is a true genius, and impresses himself upon all that he writes... seldom have we read a more fascinating book, or one that exhibits a wider scope of power.
”
— November 24, 1851
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Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser
favorable
“We nowhere find a more perfect delineation of character; he has a keen perception of the humorous and grotesque, excels in the description of natural scenery; his pencil is rich in coloring and his mind fertile in invention.
”
— November 25, 1851
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Batavia (NY) Republican Advocate
favorable
“'Moby Dick... said to be the best written and most entertaining book put forth by that popular and clever author.'
”
— November 25, 1851 (copied from Albany Daily State Register)
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Oswego (NY) Daily Commercial Times
favorable
“Persons who are fond of reading marvelous fish stories, this book will be welcome. It is written with considerable spirit, and abounds in wit and humor.
”
— November 26, 1851
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New Orleans Commercial Bulletin
favorable
“Well sustains his reputation as a tale writer and sketcher, while it enhances in a high degree his fame as an original thinker and illustrator of every day sailor men, and every day sailor scenes.
”
— Hans Yorkel (Abraham Oakey Hall), November 27, 1851
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New York Home Journal
favorable
“A very racy, spirited, curious and entertaining book.
”
— N. P. Willis, November 29, 1851
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New York Farmer and Mechanic
favorable
“This book is, beyond all question, Herman Melville’s best. It might be called the 'Whaliad' or the history of the whale... The author’s heart, soul, and stomach are in the business; his legs, arms, eyes, muscles and mind... not only the most entertaining, but really the most useful book that we have had for many a day.
”
— November 29, 1851
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Washington (DC) Daily Union
favorable
“The high reputation attained by Mr. Melville as the author of those admirable works... is fully sustained in the volume which is the subject of this notice... a most readable work and an intensely interesting history.
”
— November 30, 1851
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The annotated edition of Moby-Dick gives you everything you need to finally get Melville's masterpiece:
- ✅ Complete, unabridged text — every word of the original 1851 edition
- ✅ Hundreds of explanatory footnotes — no more Googling every other page
- ✅ Historical context — the Essex disaster, Nantucket whaling, Melville's life
- ✅ Literary analysis — chapter-by-chapter commentary on themes and symbols
- ✅ Victorian vocabulary — obsolete words and nautical terms defined inline
- ✅ Biblical & literary references — every allusion traced to its source