Overview

Typee is an adventure novel by Herman Melville that was first published in 1846 with the subtitle A Peep at Polynesian Life. The author’s first published work presents an indeterminate mixture of fiction and factual details from Melville’s adventures in the South Seas as a sailor—framed to reflect his distinctive philosophy of life. Upon its publication, Typee was criticized for its mockery of missionaries and its open discussion of sexuality, but it was also Melville’s best-selling and best-known text until being overtaken by Moby-Dick in the 1930s.

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