Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase and the Essex

The “exciting tale” of the first documented sinking of a ship by a whale—and the survivor’s narrative that inspired Moby-Dick (Choice).

“On November 20, 1820, a great whale rammed the Nantucket whaler Essex, two thousand miles west of Ecuador. Owen Chase, her first mate, and twenty-nine other men took to the boats; eight eventually survived. Herman Melville’s debt to Chase’s Narrative has been known since Moby-Dick appeared, but little has been known about Chase and the survival of the crew …

“Heffernan’s study belongs on the shelf of every Melville scholar and anyone interested in an exciting tale. ” —Choice

“Moving … [Hefferman] has brought together new information about the Essex and her crew, the rescue of her survivors, and subsequent accounts of their ordeal that goes far beyond any single study previously in print. ” —Resources for American Literary Study

“The astonishing list of books, logs, manuscripts, court records, ships’ registers, and museum records attest to the diligent weeks, months, and even years that have finally resulted in a volume that entrances the reader with yarns of the sea. All the drama is still there, intact. ” —Ocean

Includes illustrations.

© 2020 Wesleyan University Press (Ebook): 9780819573773

Release date

Ebook: February 14, 2020