Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) and Herman Melville (1819-1891) addressed in their writings a range of issues that continue to resonate in American culture: the reach and limits of democracy; the nature of freedom; the roles of race, gender, and sexuality; and the place of the United States in the world. Yet they are rarely discussed together, perhaps because of their differences in race and social position. Douglass escaped from slavery and tied his well-received nonfiction writing to political activism, becoming a figure of international prominence. Melville was the grandson of Revolutionary War heroes and addressed urgent issues through fiction and poetry, laboring in increasing obscurity.

In eighteen original essays, the contributors to this collection explore the convergences and divergences of these two extraordinary literary lives. Developing new perspectives on literature, biography, race, gender, and politics, this volume ultimately raises questions that help rewrite the color line in nineteenth-century studies.

Contributors:

Elizabeth Barnes, College of William and Mary

Hester Blum, The Pennsylvania State University

Russ Castronovo, University of Wisconsin-Madison

John Ernest, West Virginia University

William Gleason, Princeton University

Gregory Jay, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Carolyn L. Karcher, Washington, D.C.

Rodrigo Lazo, University of California, Irvine

Maurice S. Lee, Boston University

Robert S. Levine, University of Maryland, College Park

Steven Mailloux, University of California, Irvine

Dana D. Nelson, Vanderbilt University

Samuel Otter, University of California, Berkeley

John Stauffer, Harvard University

Sterling Stuckey, University of California, Riverside

Eric J. Sundquist, University of California, Los Angeles

Elisa Tamarkin, University of California, Irvine

Susan M. Ryan, University of Louisville

David Van Leer, University of California, Davis

Maurice Wallace, Duke University

Robert K. Wallace, Northern Kentucky University

Kenneth W. Warren, University of Chicago