THE WHALE: A LOVE STORY
Book ID/图书代码： 14935516B88868
English Summary/英文概要： A rich and captivating novel set amid the witty, high-spirited literary society of 1850s New England, offering a new window on Herman Melville’s emotionally charged relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne and how it transformed his masterpiece, Moby-Dick In the summer of 1850, Herman Melville finds himself hounded by creditors and afraid his writing career might be coming to an end—following early literary acclaim, his last three novels have been commercial failures and the critics have turned against him. In despair, Melville takes his family for a vacation to his cousin’s farm in the Berkshires, where he meets Nathaniel Hawthorne at a picnic— and his life turns upside down.
The Whale chronicles the affair of mind and heart that grows out of that serendipitous afternoon. Already in debt and creative crisis, Melville borrows money from his father-in-law to purchase a local farm so as to remain near Hawthorne, his new source of inspiration. The two develop a deep connection marked by tensions and estrangements, and feelings both shared and suppressed.
Melville dedicated Moby Dick to Hawthorne, and Mark Beauregard’s novel fills in the story behind that dedication with historical accuracy and exquisite emotional precision, reflecting his nuanced reading of the real letters and journals of Melville, Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others. An exuberant tale of longing and passion, The Whale captures not only a transformative relationship—long the subject of speculation—between two of our most enduring authors, but also their exhilarating moment in history, when a community of ambitious writers was creating truly American literature for the first time.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 这部情节丰富、引人入胜的小说以1850年代的新英格兰为背景，展现了一个窥视梅尔维尔和霍桑之间关系的新视角，解释了他如何最终写出了巨作Moby-Dick。
1850年的夏季，梅尔维尔觉得评论界人士就快要把自己逼疯了，自己的写作生涯或者真的已经到头了。此前他的三部小说都遭到惨败，评论也很不利。绝望的梅尔维尔带着全家到侄子在Berkshires的农场度假。在那里，他遇到了霍桑，人生从此再不同。
本书记录了当时那个午后所迸发的思维和心灵的火花。梅尔维尔已经陷入了债务和创意的危机，然而他还是找岳父借钱买下了一个当地的农场，为了能够待在霍桑的身边，霍桑成了他灵感的来源。两人之间的关系充满了紧张和疏离，然而有种情感是两人都感受到、但都压抑着的。
梅尔维尔将Moby Dick献给霍桑，而Mark Beauregard的这部小说补充了这个故事之后的历史和情感，这是通过大量阅读往来于梅尔维尔、霍桑等人的真实的信件和日记的产物。这是一个有关渴望和激情的故事，不仅描写了两个人，更是描写了那个由一群有抱负的作家第一次创作出真正美国文学的时期。(LYR)
Awards/获奖情况：构思精妙，文笔优美，调研精心，详尽地记录了霍桑和梅尔维尔之间的关系以及撰写巨作Moby Dick过程中的各种彷徨、悲伤和辛苦。（Sheila Kohler，著有《Becoming Jane Eyre》）
Mark Beauregard写出了一部吸引人的小说，这是对美国文坛巨匠的生动描写。我一直对于梅尔维尔在Berkshires期间，和霍桑住在一条街上时所产生的各种想法很有兴趣。他们的交流让他写出了美国文学史上最伟大的小说之一——Moby Dick。我读这部小说的时候可是深深地沉浸在其中了。这是一部第一流的作品。（Jay Parini，著有《The Passage of H.M.》）
Please have a look at the letter from the book’s editor, Carole DeSanti, on the first page of the galleys. The sell-in to bookstores and distributors is going very well. A printing of 2000 galleys have just arrived. The book is one of Viking’s key titles for summer.
“A brilliantly conceived, sparklingly written, carefully researched, and moving account of the surprising relationship between Hawthorne and Melville, as well as a credible and poignant story of the sufferings, sorrows, flights of fancy, and plain hard work that went into the writing of a great book: Moby Dick.” —Sheila Kohler, author of Becoming Jane Eyre
"Mark Beauregard has written an engaging novel about one of the vivid episodes in the saga of American literature. I’ve always been drawn to the idea of Melville in the Berkshires, with his friend Hawthorne just down the road, and the way their combustive interactions led to the writing of the greatest American novel, Moby- Dick. I read this novel with deep absorption. A first-class piece of fiction." —Jay Parini, author of The Passages of H.M.
“Mark Beauregard makes intricate use of available primary sources to deftly imagine what might have transpired between Melville and Hawthorne off the record. He refreshingly counters traditional portraits of their mutual attraction as a transcendental and bodiless experience between “soul mates.” Sensitive, keenly observant, often funny, and exquisitely written, The Whale: A Love Story steps bracingly into a long history of conjectures and evasions to offer a moving interpretation that speaks in the frank language of our time.” —Elizabeth Renker, author of Strike Through the Mask: Herman Melville and the Scene of Writing
About the Author/作者介绍： Mark Beauregard曾做过记者、杂志编辑和非营利性艺术社区活动组织经理。他在美国和欧洲的很多地方住过，目前待在亚利桑那州的Tucson。
Mark Beauregard has been a journalist, magazine editor, and manager of nonprofit arts and
community organizations. He has lived in many places throughout the United States and
Europe and currently resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Format:
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE
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