Typee ― A Peep at Polynesian Life

In his first book — a classic of travel and adventure literature — Herman Melville drew upon his experiences in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands as a month-long guest/captive of the Typee people. An anthropological study of a culture that both impressed and alarmed the author, the 1846 narrative is also the exciting story of a stranded sailor's attempts to escape from an idyllic but ultimately stultifying existence.

Herman Melville (1819–91) found early success with stories inspired by his adventures in the South Seas. His fortunes declined with the 1851 publication of Moby-Dick, now recognized as a masterpiece but scorned by Melville's contemporaries. The author was obliged to work as a New York City customs inspector and died in obscurity, three decades before the critical reassessment of his work.