Moby-Dick
A young sailor ships aboard a Nantucket whaler and finds her captain bent on hunting one particular white whale: the one that took his leg. Melville wrote in long spoken cadences built for the ear.
Things worth knowing
- It appeared in London first, on 18 October 1851, under the title The Whale, after Bentley's editors cut passages they judged blasphemous or bawdy; Harper published it in New York as Moby-Dick four weeks later.
- Each of the three volumes of the first English edition carries a gold whale on its spine, and the whales are right whales rather than sperm whales.
Checked against source.
Listen, or read along
Every chapter has the recording and the same chapter as text. Open both if you like: the text is the words you are hearing.
-
1 Etymology 1 min
-
2 Extracts 22 min
-
3 Chapter One. Loomings 10 min
-
4 Chapter Two. The Carpet-Bag 6 min
-
5 Chapter Three. The Spouter-Inn, Part One 14 min
-
6 Chapter Three. The Spouter-Inn, Part Two 12 min
-
7 Chapter Four. The Counterpane 8 min
-
8 Chapter Five. Breakfast 3 min
-
9 Chapter Six. The Street 4 min
-
10 Chapter Seven. The Chapel 5 min
-
11 Chapter Eight. The Pulpit 4 min
-
12 Chapter Nine. The Sermon 16 min
-
13 Chapter Ten. A Bosom Friend 7 min
-
14 Chapter Eleven. Nightgown 3 min
-
15 Chapter Twelve. Biographical 4 min
-
16 Chapter Thirteen. Wheelbarrow 8 min
-
17 Chapter Fourteen. Nantucket 3 min
-
18 Chapter Fifteen. Chowder 5 min
-
19 Chapter Sixteen. The Ship 27 min
-
20 Chapter Seventeen. The Ramadan 11 min
-
21 Chapter Eighteen. His Mark 6 min
-
22 Chapter Nineteen. The Prophet 5 min
-
23 Chapter Twenty. All Astir 4 min
-
24 Chapter Twenty-One. Going Aboard 5 min
-
25 Chapter Twenty-Two. Merry Christmas 8 min
-
26 Chapter Twenty-Three. The Lee Shore 1 min
-
27 Chapter Twenty-Four. The Advocate 8 min
-
28 Chapter Twenty-Five. Postscript 1 min
-
29 Chapter Twenty-Six. Knights and Squires 6 min
-
30 Chapter Twenty-Seven. Knights and Squires 8 min
-
31 Chapter Twenty-Eight. Ahab 7 min
-
32 Chapter Twenty-Nine. Enter Ahab; to Him, Stubb 5 min
-
33 Chapter Thirty. The Pipe 1 min
-
34 Chapter Thirty-One. Queen Mab 3 min
-
35 Chapter Thirty-Two. Cetology 25 min
-
36 Chapter Thirty-Three. The Specksnyder 5 min
-
37 Chapter Thirty-Four. The Cabin-Table 10 min
-
38 Chapter Thirty-Five. The Mast-Head 13 min
-
39 Chapter Thirty-Six. The Quarter-Deck 14 min
-
40 Chapter Thirty-Seven. Sunset 2 min
-
41 Chapter Thirty-Eight. Dusk 1 min
-
42 Chapter Thirty-Nine. First Night-Watch 1 min
-
43 Chapter Forty. Midnight, Forecastle 8 min
-
44 Chapter Forty-One. Moby Dick 19 min
-
45 Chapter Forty-Two. The Whiteness of the Whale 16 min
-
46 Chapter Forty-Three. Hark! 1 min
-
47 Chapter Forty-Four. The Chart 9 min
-
48 Chapter Forty-Five. The Affidavit 17 min
-
49 Chapter Forty-Six. Surmises 5 min
-
50 Chapter Forty-Seven. The Mat-Maker 4 min
-
51 Chapter Forty-Eight. The First Lowering 19 min
-
52 Chapter Forty-Nine. The Hyena 4 min
-
53 Chapter Fifty. Ahab’s Boat and Crew. Fedallah 5 min
-
54 Chapter Fifty-One. The Spirit-Spout 7 min
-
55 Chapter Fifty-Two. The Albatross 3 min
-
56 Chapter Fifty-Three. The Gam 8 min
-
57 Chapter Fifty-Four. The Town-Ho’s Story, Part One 20 min
-
58 Chapter Fifty-Four. The Town-Ho’s Story, Part Two 19 min
-
59 Chapter Fifty-Five. Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales 9 min
-
60 Chapter Fifty-Six. Of the Less Erroneous Pictures of Whales, and the True Pictures of Whaling Scenes 6 min
-
61 Chapter Fifty-Seven. Of Whales in Paint; in Teeth; in Wood; in Sheet-Iron; in Stone; in Mountains; in Stars 5 min
-
62 Chapter Fifty-Eight. Brit 4 min
-
63 Chapter Fifty-Nine. Squid 4 min
-
64 Chapter Sixty. The Line 7 min
-
65 Chapter Sixty-One. Stubb Kills a Whale 8 min
-
66 Chapter Sixty-Two. The Dart 2 min
-
67 Chapter Sixty-Three. The Crotch 2 min
-
68 Chapter Sixty-Four. Stubb’s Supper 13 min
-
69 Chapter Sixty-Five. The Whale as a Dish 4 min
-
70 Chapter Sixty-Six. The Shark Massacre 2 min
-
71 Chapter Sixty-Seven. Cutting In 3 min
-
72 Chapter Sixty-Eight. The Blanket 6 min
-
73 Chapter Sixty-Nine. The Funeral 2 min
-
74 Chapter Seventy. The Sphynx 4 min
-
75 Chapter Seventy-One. The Jeroboam’s Story 11 min
-
76 Chapter Seventy-Two. The Monkey-Rope 7 min
-
77 Chapter Seventy-Three. Stubb and Flask kill a Right Whale; and Then Have a Talk over Him 10 min
-
78 Chapter Seventy-Four. The Sperm Whale’s Head—Contrasted View 8 min
-
79 Chapter Seventy-Five. The Right Whale’s Head—Contrasted View 5 min
-
80 Chapter Seventy-Six. The Battering-Ram 4 min
-
81 Chapter Seventy-Seven. The Great Heidelburgh Tun 3 min
-
82 Chapter Seventy-Eight. Cistern and Buckets 8 min
-
83 Chapter Seventy-Nine. The Prairie 4 min
-
84 Chapter Eighty. The Nut 4 min
-
85 Chapter Eighty-One. The Pequod Meets The Virgin 21 min
-
86 Chapter Eighty-Two. The Honor and Glory of Whaling 5 min
-
87 Chapter Eighty-Three. Jonah Historically Regarded 3 min
-
88 Chapter Eighty-Four. Pitchpoling 4 min
-
89 Chapter Eighty-Five. The Fountain 10 min
-
90 Chapter Eighty-Six. The Tail 8 min
-
91 Chapter Eighty-Seven. The Grand Armada 23 min
-
92 Chapter Eighty-Eight. Schools and Schoolmasters 6 min
-
93 Chapter Eighty-Nine. Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish 7 min
-
94 Chapter Ninety. Heads or Tails 5 min
-
95 Chapter Ninety-One. The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud 12 min
-
96 Chapter Ninety-Two. Ambergris 4 min
-
97 Chapter Ninety-Three. The Castaway 8 min
-
98 Chapter Ninety-Four. A Squeeze of the Hand 6 min
-
99 Chapter Ninety-Five. The Cassock 2 min
-
100 Chapter Ninety-Six. The Try-Works 8 min
-
101 Chapter Ninety-Seven. The Lamp 1 min
-
102 Chapter Ninety-Eight. Stowing Down and Clearing Up 4 min
-
103 Chapter Ninety-Nine. The Doubloon 11 min
-
104 Chapter One Hundred. Leg and Arm 13 min
-
105 Chapter One Hundred and One. The Decanter 9 min
-
106 Chapter One Hundred and Two. A Bower in the Arsacides 8 min
-
107 Chapter One Hundred and Three. Measurement of The Whale’s Skeleton 4 min
-
108 Chapter One Hundred and Four. The Fossil Whale 7 min
-
109 Chapter One Hundred and Five. Does the Whale’s Magnitude Diminish?—Will He Perish? 8 min
-
110 Chapter One Hundred and Six. Ahab’s Leg 4 min
-
111 Chapter One Hundred and Seven. The Carpenter 5 min
-
112 Chapter One Hundred and Eight. Ahab and the Carpenter 7 min
-
113 Chapter One Hundred and Nine. Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin 4 min
-
114 Chapter One Hundred and Ten. Queequeg in His Coffin 10 min
-
115 Chapter One Hundred and Eleven. The Pacific 2 min
-
116 Chapter One Hundred and Twelve. The Blacksmith 5 min
-
117 Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen. The Forge 6 min
-
118 Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen. The Gilder 3 min
-
119 Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen. The Pequod Meets The Bachelor 4 min
-
120 Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen. The Dying Whale 2 min
-
121 Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen. The Whale Watch 2 min
-
122 Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen. The Quadrant 4 min
-
123 Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen. The Candles 12 min
-
124 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty. The Deck Towards the End of the First Night Watch 1 min
-
125 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One. Midnight.—The Forecastle Bulwarks 2 min
-
126 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two. Midnight Aloft.—Thunder and Lightning 6 min
-
127 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four. The Needle 6 min
-
128 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five. The Log and Line 5 min
-
129 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six. The Life-Buoy 6 min
-
130 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven. The Deck 3 min
-
131 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight. The Pequod Meets The Rachel 6 min
-
132 Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine. The Cabin 2 min
-
133 Chapter One Hundred and Thirty. The Hat 8 min
-
134 Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-One. The Pequod Meets The Delight 2 min
-
135 Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two. The Symphony 7 min
-
136 Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three. The Chase—First Day 17 min
-
137 Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four. The Chase—Second Day 16 min
-
138 Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Five. The Chase.—Third Day 21 min
-
139 Epilogue 1 min
Where this comes from
US public domain: first published 1851, before the 1930 cutoff. Author d.1891, so also clear in life+70 jurisdictions.
Cover image: Illustration of the final chase, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1902.
Narration: text-to-speech.
Want a copy for your bookshelf?
Enjoyed this audiobook? Add a printed copy to your personal library, or share the experience by gifting one to a friend or family member.
Open Ear Books earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.