A Melville encyclopedia : the novels /

In a two-volume, single alphabetical listing, heavily cross-referenced, the editor has supplied explanatory notes for all the proper names, titles, authors, places, and a few concepts that Melville mentions or alludes to in his nine novels. The undertaking is a large one and it fills gaps in one's intellectual equipment, gaps that any but the most experienced reader and critic of Melville must be aware of when facing books like Mardi, Moby Dick, and even Whitejacket. It may even help considerably with what lies outside Kier's scope--Melville's shorter tales and poetry. Location of citations is by chapter of the Melville text, without pagination in any particular edition. This system works fairly well, given Melville's penchant for short chapters. On the other hand, entries often include information that all but an illiterate must surely know. However, the lists of quotations, extracts, nautical terms, and bibliography in Volume 2 are useful inclusions. The set belongs in any collection that contains all Melville's novels and supports a program in the American novel. -A. E. Jones Jr., emeritus, Drew University