Moby Dick; or, The Whale (version 2)
Herman Melville
Play
Length 23 h 35 min
Chapters 138
First published 1851
This great, genre-bending novel nominally centres on the quest of the monomaniacal Captain Ahab to gain revenge for the loss of his leg to an apparently malicious white sperm whale known in the fishery as Moby Dick.
At times the compulsive and bombastic Captain Ahab sounds more like a figure from grand guignol than a reincarnated Lear, and listeners may find themselves wondering if the story of Ahab's attempted revenge, as narrated by Ishmael, one of his crew members, is at least partly a pretext allowing the author to explore other subjects in which he actually has a deeper interest — themes including the true brotherhood of man, the wondrous qualities, varieties and behaviour of whales themselves, and the immense courage and ingenuity required of the men who hunted these whales for their oil in the mid-nineteenth century. (Summary by Peter Dann)
Chapters
1
Etymology Read by Peter Dann 4:39
2
Extracts Read by Peter Dann 23:46
3
1: Loomings Read by Peter Dann 14:28
4
2: The carpet-bag Read by Peter Dann 9:15
5
3: The Spouter-Inn Read by Peter Dann 34:21
6
4: The counterpane Read by Peter Dann 10:26
7
5: Breakfast Read by Peter Dann 4:51
8
6: The street Read by Peter Dann 5:46
9
7: The chapel Read by Peter Dann 6:52
10
8: The pulpit Read by Peter Dann 6:20
11
9: The sermon Read by Peter Dann 23:56
12
10: A bosom friend Read by Peter Dann 10:01
13
11: Nightgown Read by Peter Dann 4:31
14
12: Biographical Read by Peter Dann 5:47
15
13: Wheelbarrow Read by Peter Dann 10:54
16
14: Nantucket Read by Peter Dann 5:15
17
15: Chowder Read by Peter Dann 7:22
18
16: The ship Read by Peter Dann 34:41
19
17: The Ramadan Read by Peter Dann 13:50
20
18: His mark Read by Peter Dann 8:39
21
19: The prophet Read by Peter Dann 7:34
22
20: All astir Read by Peter Dann 5:41
23
21: Going aboard Read by Peter Dann 7:11
24
22: Merry Christmas Read by Peter Dann 10:30
25
23: The lee shore Read by Peter Dann 3:03
26
24: The advocate Read by Peter Dann 11:21
27
25: Poscript Read by Peter Dann 2:18
28
26: Knights and squires Read by Peter Dann 8:32
29
27: Knights and squires Read by Peter Dann 10:51
30
28: Ahab Read by Peter Dann 9:20
31
29: Enter Ahab; to him, Stubb Read by Peter Dann 8:10
32
30: The pipe Read by Peter Dann 2:22
33
31: Queen Mab Read by Peter Dann 5:38
34
32: Cetology Read by Peter Dann 35:08
35
33: The specksnyder Read by Peter Dann 6:41
36
34: The cabin-table Read by Peter Dann 14:12
37
35: The mast-head Read by Peter Dann 16:24
38
36: The quarter-deck Read by Peter Dann 20:04
39
37: Sunset Read by Peter Dann 4:53
40
38: Dusk Read by Peter Dann 3:24
41
39: First night-watch Read by Peter Dann 2:18
42
40: Midnight, forecastle Read by Peter Dann 11:42
43
41: Moby Dick Read by Peter Dann 26:04
44
42: The whiteness of the whale Read by Peter Dann 24:17
45
43: Hark! Read by Peter Dann 2:14
46
44: The chart Read by Peter Dann 13:55
47
45: The affadavit Read by Peter Dann 21:48
48
46: Surmises Read by Peter Dann 7:08
49
47: The mat-maker Read by Peter Dann 6:25
50
48: The first lowering Read by Peter Dann 24:49
51
49: The hyena Read by Peter Dann 5:31
52
50: Ahab's boat and crew. Fedallah. Read by Peter Dann 6:18
53
51: The spirit-spout Read by Peter Dann 10:17
54
52: The Albatross Read by Peter Dann 4:58
55
53: The gam Read by Peter Dann 10:11
56
54: The Town-Ho's story Read by Peter Dann 48:15
57
55: Of the monstrous pictures of whales Read by Peter Dann 12:28
58
56: Of the less erroneous pictures of whales, and the true pictures of whaling scenes Read by Peter Dann 8:20
59
57: Of whales in paint; in teeth; in wood; in sheet-iron; in stone; in mountains; in stars Read by Peter Dann 6:26
60
58: Brit Read by Peter Dann 6:53
61
59: Squid Read by Peter Dann 6:25
62
60: The line Read by Peter Dann 8:58
63
61: Stubb kills a whale Read by Peter Dann 12:40
64
62: The dart Read by Peter Dann 3:41
65
63: The crotch Read by Peter Dann 3:26
66
64: Stubb's supper Read by Peter Dann 17:53
67
65: The whale as a dish Read by Peter Dann 6:17
68
66: The shark massacre Read by Peter Dann 4:16
69
67: Cutting in Read by Peter Dann 4:55
70
68: The blanket Read by Peter Dann 7:48
71
69: The funeral Read by Peter Dann 3:23
72
70: The Sphynx Read by Peter Dann 6:13
73
71: The Jeroboam's story Read by Peter Dann 14:41
74
72: The monkey-rope Read by Peter Dann 10:30
75
73: Stubb and Flask kill a right whale; and then have a talk over him Read by Peter Dann 12:07
76
74: The sperm whale's head — contrasted view Read by Peter Dann 10:41
77
75: The right whale's head — contrasted view Read by Peter Dann 8:14
78
76: The battering ram Read by Peter Dann 6:06
79
77: The great Heidelburgh Tun Read by Peter Dann 4:44
80
78: Cistern and buckets Read by Peter Dann 10:15
81
79: The praire Read by Peter Dann 6:52
82
80: The nut Read by Peter Dann 6:15
83
81: The Pequod meets the Virgin Read by Peter Dann 26:20
84
82: The honor and glory of whaling Read by Peter Dann 7:40
85
83: Jonah historically regarded Read by Peter Dann 5:05
86
84: Pitchpoling Read by Peter Dann 5:31
87
85: The fountain Read by Peter Dann 12:50
88
86: The tail Read by Peter Dann 12:06
89
87: The Grand Armada Read by Peter Dann 29:23
90
88: Schools and schoolmasters Read by Peter Dann 8:15
91
89: Fast-fish and loose-fish Read by Peter Dann 9:21
92
90: Heads or tails Read by Peter Dann 6:59
93
91: The Pequod meets the Rose-bud Read by Peter Dann 15:19
94
92: Ambergris Read by Peter Dann 6:28
95
93: The castaway Read by Peter Dann 10:34
96
94: A squeeze of the hand Read by Peter Dann 8:37
97
95: The cassock Read by Peter Dann 3:34
98
96: The try-works Read by Peter Dann 11:53
99
97: The lamp Read by Peter Dann 1:53
100
98: Stowing down and clearing up Read by Peter Dann 6:59
101
99: The doubloon Read by Peter Dann 16:17
102
100: Leg and arm Read by Peter Dann 16:06
103
101: The decanter Read by Peter Dann 11:28
104
102: A bower in the Arsacides Read by Peter Dann 10:40
105
103: Measurements of the whale's skeleton Read by Peter Dann 6:02
106
104: The fossil whale Read by Peter Dann 9:44
107
105: Does the whale's magnitude diminish? — Will he perish? Read by Peter Dann 10:29
108
106: Ahab's leg Read by Peter Dann 6:32
109
107: The carpenter Read by Peter Dann 7:41
110
108: Ahab and the carpenter Read by Peter Dann 10:40
111
109: Ahab and Starbuck in the cabin Read by Peter Dann 6:22
112
110: Queequeg in his coffin Read by Peter Dann 14:40
113
111: The Pacific Read by Peter Dann 3:35
114
112: The blacksmith Read by Peter Dann 7:08
115
113: The forge Read by Peter Dann 8:36
116
114: The gilder Read by Peter Dann 5:01
117
115: The Pequod meets the Bachelor Read by Peter Dann 5:50
118
116: The dying whale Read by Peter Dann 4:18
119
117: The whale watch Read by Peter Dann 3:31
120
118: The quadrant Read by Peter Dann 6:21
121
119: The candles Read by Peter Dann 17:14
122
120: The deck towards the end of the first night watch Read by Peter Dann 1:40
123
121: Midnight — The forecastle bulwarks Read by Peter Dann 3:57
124
122: Midnight aloft — Thunder and lightning Read by Peter Dann 0:48
125
123: The musket Read by Peter Dann 8:09
126
124: The needle Read by Peter Dann 8:06
127
125: The log and line Read by Peter Dann 7:48
128
126: The life-buoy Read by Peter Dann 8:17
129
127: The deck Read by Peter Dann 5:16
130
128: The Pequod meets the Rachel Read by Peter Dann 8:49
131
129: The cabin Read by Peter Dann 4:19
132
130: The hat Read by Peter Dann 11:10
133
131: The Pequod meets the Delight Read by Peter Dann 3:23
134
132: The symphony Read by Peter Dann 12:07
135
133: The chase — First day Read by Peter Dann 23:44
136
134: The chase — Second day Read by Peter Dann 21:41
137
135: The chase — Third day Read by Peter Dann 30:34
138
Epilogue Read by Peter Dann 2:24
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens gutenberg.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
