Israel Potter
Subtitle: his fifty years of exile
By: by Herman Melville
Series: Works of Herman Melville, standard edition -- v. 11
Publisher: Russell & Russell
Published: 1963
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 225
Subjects: Fiction; History
Description: When Israel Potter leaves his plow to fight in the American Revolution, he's immediately thrown into the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he receives multiple wounds. However, this does not deter him, and after hearing a rousing speech by General George Washington, he volunteers for further duty, this time at sea, where more ill fortune awaits him. Along the way, Israel encounters King George III, who takes a liking to the Yankee rebel and shelters him in Kew Gardens; Benjamin Franklin, who presses Israel into service as a spy; John Paul Jones, who invites Israel to join his crew aboard The Ranger; and Ethan Allen, whom Israel attempts to free from a British prison. Throughout these adventures, Israel Potter acquits himself bravely, but his patriotic valor does not bring him any closer to his dream of returning to America.
Notes: Reprint of the 1922 ed. published by Constable, London.