Melville’s Allusions to Religion: A Comprehensive Index and Glossary

The long-awaited companion volume to Gail Coffler’s first book, Melville’s Classical Allusions, has finally arrived. In this new volume, thousands of references to Judeo-Christian and other religions in Herman Melville’s books are references. The index includes references to all of his novels, short stories, poetry, lectures, letters, and journals. With it, one can trace a given allusion through the entire canon, or research any individual work, such as Moby Dick, Billy Budd, or Benito Cereno from beginning to end. Readers interested in Melville’s writing and philosophy as well as researchers of 19th century literature, culture, and religion will appreciate this book.

This volume begins with a master index that lists all religious allusions and their location throughout Melville’s works. Next, there is an alphabetical index and a sequential index of all allusions in each of the individual volumes. The sequential index lists allusions in their chronological page order and identifies many bible passages alluded to or quoted by Melville, citing the bible book, chapter, and verse. A supplementary index alphabetically lists the allusions in Melville’s Correspondence and Journals. The book concludes with a glossary briefly explaining all allusions and gives cross references to related entries.