John C.A. Manley | July 30, 2024

D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world." He was referring to Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

Moby-Dick was published in 1851. While working on the manuscript, Melville wrote this description of his morning writing routine in his journal:

"I rise at eight — thereabouts — & go to my barn — say good-morning to the horse, & give him his breakfast. (It goes to my heart to give him a cold one, but it can’t be helped) Then, pay a visit to my cow — cut up a pumpkin or two for her, & stand by to see her eat it — for it’s a pleasant sight to see a cow move her jaws — she does it so mildly & with such a sanctity. — My own breakfast over, I go to my work-room & light my fire–then spread my M.S.S. on the table–take one business squint at it, & fall to with a will.  At 2 1/2 p.m. I hear a preconcerted knock at my door, which (by request) continues till I rise & go to the door, which serves to wean me effectively from my writing, however interested I may be..."

At the time, Melville was living on a farm in the Berkshire mountains of Western Massachusetts. Struggling financially, he would spend the rest of his day in hard labour: milking cows; caring for horses; planting, tending and harvesting corn, potatoes, hay, tomatoes, and pumpkins; splitting wood; carpentry; picking apples and pressing cider. Melville was no slouch.

He put in these long days so he could publish a novel that was initially a commercial failure, selling less than 4,000 copies before he died in 1891.

Twenty-eight years later, however, it was already heralded as the "Great American Novel." And today, 173 years later, it has sold millions of copies — all the result of one man sitting at his desk every morning and doing work he loved.

If you don't have a copy of "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world" on your bookshelf, you can purchase Moby-Dick in print, ebook or audiobook format here.

Photo of Herman Melville's studio (where he wrote Moby-Dick) at Arrowhead Farm used with permission by Pablo Sanchez

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.