In early-to-mid nineteenth century America, there were growing debates concerning the acceptability of alcohol and its consumption. Temperance reformers were calling for alcohol to be avoided by America’s citizens, and in support of such views America’s greatest authors began to write work of temperance fiction, stories that urged American citizens to refrain from imbibing. Although he has yet to be given much credit for writing such works, Herman Melville is no exception. Alcohol in the Works of Herman Melville:
The Ever-Devilish God of Grog
is the first full-length analysis of the presence and implications of alcohol and intoxication in Melville’s novels, short fiction, and poetry. Throughout his works he urges his readers for a variety of reasons to avoid alcohol. Liquor and intoxication, he consistently illustrates, brings various yet consistently-harsh outcomes.