120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Come visit us this weekend! Auckland Bookstore open 8:30am-5:00pm Sat & Sun 🎉

Moby-Dick

By Herman Melville
Penguin Classics
Series: The Penguin English Library
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.56 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 606,615 ratings, 26,685 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Moby-Dick is a tale of obsession and adventure set at sea. It follows Captain Ahab's relentless pursuit of a giant white whale, driven by vengeance after the creature maimed him. Through the eyes of the sailor Ishmael, the story explores themes of revenge, fate, and humanity's relationship with the natural world.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2200
Elsewhere:
$2400
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are fascinated by epic sea adventures and the complex interplay between man and nature. It's a gripping tale that delves into themes of obsession, revenge, and friendship, with richly drawn characters and vivid descriptions that immerse you in the 19th-century whaling world.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Tells the mad, raging, Shakespearean tale of Captain Ahab's insane quest to kill a giant white whale that has taken his leg, and upon which he has sworn vengeance, at any cost.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Launching a major new paperback series - Penguin English Library.

The Penguin English Library Edition of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

'The frail gunwales bent in, collapsed, and snapped, as both jaws, like an enormous shears, sliding further aft, bit the craft completely in twain...'

Moby-Dick is one of the most expansive feats of imagination in the whole of literature - the mad, raging, Shakespearean tale of Captain Ahab's insane quest to kill a giant white whale that has taken his leg, and upon which he has sworn vengeance, at any cost. A creation unlike any other, this is an epic story of fatal monomania and the deepest dreams and obsessions of mankind.

The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Series: The Penguin English Library

View all
  • On Sale
    13% off
    The Great Gatsby
    Step into the roaring twenties with F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. This novel invites readers into a world characterised by glitz, glamour, and the relentless pursuit of the American Dream. Nestled in the opulent enclave of West Egg, Long Island, the story follows the enigmatic and fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby. Known for his lavish parties that attract...
    By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    Paperback
    $1300
    Elsewhere:
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The House of Mirth
    Launching a major new paperback series - Penguin English Library The Penguin English Library Edition of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton “It was characteristic of her that she always roused speculation, that her simplest acts seemed the result of far-reaching intentions” A searing, shocking tale of women as consumer items in a man's world, The House of Mirth...
    By Edith Wharton
    Paperback
    $2400
    Backorder
    Ships early October
  • Wuthering Heights
    The new paperback series - Penguin English Library "May you not rest, as long as I am living. You said I killed you - haunt me, then" Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of...
    By Emily Brontë
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Machine Stops and Other Stories
    A new selection of E. M. Forster's exquisite short stories, now in the beautifully designed Penguin English Library Series. We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down...
    By E M Forster
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Ghost Stories
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. Still as the night was, the mysterious population of the distant moonlit woods was not yet lulled to rest The aim of a good ghost story is to make the blood freeze, pleasurably, and this M. R. James achieves to perfection in these wonderful stories. His most...
    By M. R. James
    Paperback
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • At the Mountains of Madness
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. 'To that flash of semi-vision can be traced a full half of the horror which has ever since haunted us' An expedition to Antarctica goes horribly wrong as a group of explorers stumbles upon some mysterious ancient ruins, with devastating consequences. At the Mountains of Madness ranks...
    By H. P. Lovecraft
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $1799
    Backorder
    Ships early October
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. Nineteen Eighty-Four 'Who controls the past controls the future - who controls the present controls the past.' Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against...
    By George Orwell
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Awakening
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. 'The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude' When The Awakening was first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage its...
    By Kate Chopin
    Paperback
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Melmoth the Wanderer
    The Penguin English Library edition of the classic gothic novel that inspired Sarah Perry's new novel Melmoth The Penguin English Library Edition of Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin 'My hour is come ... the clock of eternity is about to strike, but its knell must be unheard by mortal ears!' This violent, profound, baroque, and blackly humorous novel is...
    By Charles Maturin
    Paperback
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. Every step the Scarlet Pimpernel takes on French soil is fraught with danger. The French Terror is raging, and few are safe from the threat of the guillotine. Sir Percy Blakeney, a foppish Englishman, decides to rescue imprisoned aristocrats before they can be executed. Showing great daring...
    By Baroness Baroness Orczy
    Paperback
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Kevin's Pick Kevin's Pick
    Dracula
    The new paperback series - Penguin English Library The Penguin English Library Edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker 'Alone with the dead! I dare not go out, for I can hear the low howl of the wolf through the broken window' A chilling masterpiece of the horror genre, Dracula also illuminated dark corners of Victorian sexuality. When Jonathan Harker visits...
    By Bram Stoker
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    22% off
    Animal Farm
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master, Mr Jones, and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually, a cunning,...
    By George Orwell
    Paperback
    $1400
    Usually:
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141198958

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 26 April 2012

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 32.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 487g

Pages: 720

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Herman Melville In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Literary Fiction New Release Fiction New Zealand's Best Selling Books Penguin Books Penguin Classics Penguin Classics: General Fiction Series: The Penguin English Library

About the Author

Herman Melville (1819-91) became in his late twenties a highly successful author of exotic novels based on his experiences as a sailor - writing in quick succession Typee, Omoo, Redburn and White-Jacket. However, his masterpiece Moby-Dick was met with incomprehension and the other later works which are now the basis of his reputation, such as Bartleby, the Scrivener and The Confidence-Man, were failures. Melville stopped writing fiction and the rest of his long life was spent first as a lecturer and then, for nineteen years, as a customs official in New York City. He was also the author of the immensely long poem Clarel, which was similarly dismissed. At the end of his life he wrote Billy Budd, Sailor, published posthumously in 1924. The Confidence-Man and Billy Budd, Sailor are published together in the Penguin English Library.

Also by Herman Melville

View all
  • Moby-Dick
    Herman Melville's classic seafaring adventure has been a favourite of readers for generations. “Call me Ishmael” is the iconic opening line of Herman Melville’s classic American novel Moby-Dick. Ishmael is a seaman aboard the whaling vessel Pequod, under the vengeful Captain Ahab. Maniacally seeking retribution from the great white sperm whale called Moby-Dick—the whale responsible for the captain’s missing leg—Ahab...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $2799
    Elsewhere:
    $3099
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby-Dick
    Captain Ahab is an eerily compelling madman who focuses his distilled hatred and suffering (and that of generations before him) into the pursuit of a creature as vast, dangerous, and unknowable as the sea itself. More than just a novel of adventure, this is a haunting social commentary populated with some of the most enduring characters in literature. Written with...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby-Dick
    Moby-Dick by Herman Melville has been lauded by literary giants: 'I love Melville' - Donna Tartt 'The ultimate fish story' - Bob Dylan When Ishmael sets sail on the whaling ship Pequod one cold Christmas Day, he has no idea of the horrors awaiting him out on the vast and merciless ocean. The ship's strange captain, Ahab, is in the...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby Dick
    HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. “Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee…” Few literary masterpieces cast quite as awesome a shadow as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Captain...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $1299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby Dick
    HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee…’ Few literary masterpieces cast quite as awesome a shadow as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Captain...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $1099
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby Dick
    Journey to the heart of the sea with this larger-than-life classic. Regarded as the Great American Novel, Moby Dick is the ultimate tale of seeking vengeance. Narrated by the crew member Ishmael, this epic whaling adventure follows the crew of the Pequod, as its captain, Ahab, descends deeper and deeper into madness on his quest to find and kill the...
    By Herman Melville
    Hardback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby Dick or, The Whale
    This trade edition of Moby-Dick is a reduced version of the Arion Press Moby-Dick, which was published in 1979 in a limited edition of 250 copies and has been hailed as a modern masterpiece of bookmaking. It was hand set under the supervision of one of America's finest book designers and printers. The initial letters that begin each chapter were...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $5699
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Moby-Dick
    This Norton Critical Edition includes: Moby-Dick, Melville's classic novel of whaling and revenge, based on Hershel Parker's revision of the 1967 text edited by Harrison Hayford and Hershel Parker. Twenty-six illustrations, including maps, contemporary engravings, and diagrams of whaleboat rigging. Background and source materials centering on whaling and whalecraft, Melville's international reception, the inspirations for Moby-Dick, and Melville's related correspondence....
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $9900
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Moby Dick
    The FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers, and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. American writer Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick in 1851, but it took decades...
    By Herman Melville
    Hardback
    $1999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    20% off
    Moby Dick
    Few literary masterpieces cast quite as awesome a shadow as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Captain Ahab’s quest for the white whale is a timeless epic – a thrilling tale of vengeance and obsession, and a searing parable about humanity lost in a universe of moral ambiguity. Inspired by true events, Moby Dick is a work of astonishing psychological depth. It...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $800
    Usually:
    $999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Moby Dick
    When the young Ishmael joins Captain Ahab’s whaling ship, he unsuspectingly embarks on a mission driven by Ahab's obsessive desire for revenge against Moby Dick, a white whale that has already claimed countless human victims and destroyed many fleets. With some sinister crew members among them and the hazardous conditions of the sea to contend with, the expedition becomes increasingly...
    By Herman Melville
    Paperback
    $1699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)
    An illustrated edition of Billy Budd featuring woodcuts by celebrated artist Barry Moser. This edition of Billy Budd, Sailor presents Herman Melville's iconic tale of the high seas alongside illustrations by renowned artist, publisher, and printmaker Barry Moser. Throughout his fifty-year career, Moser has illustrated more than three hundred books ranging from novels to children's stories to the Bible. Through...
    By Herman Melville
    Hardback
    $5299
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fourth Wing
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'This book contains an addictive, drug-like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn't warn you' Glamour 'I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, and when I finished, I...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Iron Flame
    The instant number one Sunday Times bestseller and thrilling sequel to the global phenomenon, Fourth Wing! DON'T BE THE LAST TO DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'Yarros is the true inheritor of Harry Potter and inspires Hunger Games levels of devotion' Guardian 'Fear not, levels of fighting, rebelliousness and all-round sexiness are still sky-high' Daily Mail...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Gate of the Feral Gods
    The fourth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent. Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $6000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    New Release
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series—now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Court of Silver Flames
    The latest instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan - Time Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James – Telegraph Spiced with slick plotting and atmospheric world-building...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
    Carl and Princess Donut have to team up with other contestants to not just survive, but to solve a deadly puzzle in this third, mind-twisting novel in the addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition! Carl and Donut have survived so far, but this fourth level is unlike anything they could imagine. The...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4700
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all