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. AUTHOR: 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.