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The Happy Failure: A Classic Literary Tale by Herman Melville
Here are ten stories that represent some of the best short work of American master Herman Melville.
Bartleby, the scrivener: a story of Wall-Street --
Cock-a-doodle-doo! or The crowing of the noble cock Beneventano --
The two temples --
The happy failure: a story of the River Hudson --
The lightning-rod man --
The fiddler --
The paradise of bachelors and the tartarus of maids --
I and my chimney --
The piazza --
Daniel Orme --
The Beast of Beddegelert by Alex Burett
Bartleby, the scrivener: a story of Wall-Street --
Cock-a-doodle-doo! or The crowing of the noble cock Beneventano --
The two temples --
The happy failure: a story of the River Hudson --
The lightning-rod man --
The fiddler --
The paradise of bachelors and the tartarus of maids --
I and my chimney --
The piazza --
Daniel Orme --
The Beast of Beddegelert by Alex Burett
245 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
11 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Herman Melville
2,546 books4,598 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 12, 2024
I would prefer not to.
July 21, 2022
> Bartleby The Scrivener
-This story rules, except perhaps the ending, there's something about it that's a bit too tidy. I get the sense if Melville were writing something like this in the 20th century you could let it float on a bit mysteriously.
-The running gag about the two clerks, one dyspeptic in the morning and one in the evening, is one of my favorites. Just, as a reader, hearing the reaction of those guys and knowing what time it is, is so wonderful. I wish more comedies had something like this going on in the background.
> Cock-A-Doodle Doo
-having not read the transcendentalists, the jokes didn't really land with me here.
> The Two Temples
- Melville has two stories here which just describe two different places and contrast them. I appreciated the imagery, the sort of adventure-story aspect of it, but his point was a little dull.
> The Happy Failure
- hard to get past the race stuff here. Melville is always complicated on this subject, but here not as productively complicated as in Moby Dick. I am also terrified of becoming the main subject, so not as enjoyable a reading experience.
> The Lightning-Rod Man
- I like these kinds of fables that Melville makes, in this case about men who trade in creating fear in other men. Melville is, to me, a chronicler of the widespread and subtle effects of industrialization, either in the countryside or the sea or the city, and this character seems like a side effect of such a transition.
> The Fiddler
- Love obsessing about a Hautboy all day.
- A fun little fable, but all of the former prodigies I know are miserable.
> The Paradise Of Bachelor's and the Tartarus Of Maids
- a chronicle of the winner's and losers of industrialization. Here we visit a hearty dinner table and a paper factory, and dwell on the two sides of the coin that is abundance wrought by mechanized labor.
> I and My Chimney
- Went on a little long but SO funny. I love the giant chimney, the clear phallic joke, I didn't get much out of this besides a rollicking adventure in the self vs. the world.
> The Piazza
- Perhaps my favorite story. I restarted it 5 times because it kept putting me to sleep, but man did I love it. What a story about writing. What great passages, and fabulous one-liners.
When he imagines himself moving slowly through a meadow that's also the cosmos — ooh! That's what it's all about!
>Daniel Orme
– it's fine
> Bonus Story
- it's fine
-This story rules, except perhaps the ending, there's something about it that's a bit too tidy. I get the sense if Melville were writing something like this in the 20th century you could let it float on a bit mysteriously.
-The running gag about the two clerks, one dyspeptic in the morning and one in the evening, is one of my favorites. Just, as a reader, hearing the reaction of those guys and knowing what time it is, is so wonderful. I wish more comedies had something like this going on in the background.
> Cock-A-Doodle Doo
-having not read the transcendentalists, the jokes didn't really land with me here.
> The Two Temples
- Melville has two stories here which just describe two different places and contrast them. I appreciated the imagery, the sort of adventure-story aspect of it, but his point was a little dull.
> The Happy Failure
- hard to get past the race stuff here. Melville is always complicated on this subject, but here not as productively complicated as in Moby Dick. I am also terrified of becoming the main subject, so not as enjoyable a reading experience.
> The Lightning-Rod Man
- I like these kinds of fables that Melville makes, in this case about men who trade in creating fear in other men. Melville is, to me, a chronicler of the widespread and subtle effects of industrialization, either in the countryside or the sea or the city, and this character seems like a side effect of such a transition.
> The Fiddler
- Love obsessing about a Hautboy all day.
- A fun little fable, but all of the former prodigies I know are miserable.
> The Paradise Of Bachelor's and the Tartarus Of Maids
- a chronicle of the winner's and losers of industrialization. Here we visit a hearty dinner table and a paper factory, and dwell on the two sides of the coin that is abundance wrought by mechanized labor.
> I and My Chimney
- Went on a little long but SO funny. I love the giant chimney, the clear phallic joke, I didn't get much out of this besides a rollicking adventure in the self vs. the world.
> The Piazza
- Perhaps my favorite story. I restarted it 5 times because it kept putting me to sleep, but man did I love it. What a story about writing. What great passages, and fabulous one-liners.
When he imagines himself moving slowly through a meadow that's also the cosmos — ooh! That's what it's all about!
>Daniel Orme
– it's fine
> Bonus Story
- it's fine
February 11, 2015
I'm only giving it 4 stars because of "Barleby". Aside from that I didn't enjoy the rest of the book.
October 5, 2024
I want to read all the books on my shelves that are unread or mostly forgotten. This one I must have bought, who knows where and when, because of the story "Bartleby", which is one of my favourites. I have other editions of Bartleby, so guess I forgot about this book. So far I have read two of the other stories: "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo! or The Crowning of the Noble Cock Beneventano" and "I and my Chimney". They are both as strange, in tone and theme, as their titles might make you believe. Sometimes I have to force myself to read on, but I will read all the stories.
"Bartleby" is five (probably reluctant) stars (you shall have five stars, prefer it or not), but I only deduct one star for the other stories. Not often I read stories with such quaint, old-fashioned and a bit pompous prose. Hark! said I. The narrators were lively and expressive, going from ecstatic to gloomy, sometimes within the same story. Unusual themes too, but that was refreshing. Of course, this is from the 1800s, guess I haven't read much American literature from that age?
"Bartleby" is five (probably reluctant) stars (you shall have five stars, prefer it or not), but I only deduct one star for the other stories. Not often I read stories with such quaint, old-fashioned and a bit pompous prose. Hark! said I. The narrators were lively and expressive, going from ecstatic to gloomy, sometimes within the same story. Unusual themes too, but that was refreshing. Of course, this is from the 1800s, guess I haven't read much American literature from that age?
Read
December 4, 2025Bartleby the Scrivener is great! It was also published at the same time Bleak House was being serialized, maybe people were thinking about copyists at the time.
The Lightning-Rod Man was good too, it’s about a lightning rod salesman, and is more about scams/salesmen than lightning
Daniel Orme reminded me a little of Woolf’s short stories that try to put a picture/painting in words although Melville is more nautical.
The Lightning-Rod Man was good too, it’s about a lightning rod salesman, and is more about scams/salesmen than lightning
Daniel Orme reminded me a little of Woolf’s short stories that try to put a picture/painting in words although Melville is more nautical.
September 5, 2017
Melville's short works are fantastic. Each one explores a different thread of his Great White Whale. In many we see Melville, the old man, coming to terms with his passing into obscurity. Bartleby, in particular, is as fine a short story as I've encountered.
July 30, 2021
Totally hilarious 😂
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2017
"The Happy Failure" by Herman Melville is a short story not about success or failure. It is more likely that it is a story about man's attitude to life.
Herman Melville is an American writer of the eighteenth century, well known for his novel "Moby-Dick". When I read this story and especially when I listened to the audio (both links for these resources put here after the essay) I had a feeling of that epoch. That was a time of great inventions, when the terms of New World (referring to America) and Old World (Europe) were commonly used. But nevertheless, I keep repeating that this story was not about inventions. Let's look to the plot of this story.
The narrator (he was called youngster in the story), a very young man, was called to help his uncle. After the short riding on the boat, the narrator saw his uncle and the servant of the uncle, Yorpy, who carried a heavy, big box. Yorpy put the box in the boat under many instructions given by the uncle such as "Put it in, you grizzled-headed cherub--put it in carefully, carefully! If that box bursts, my everlasting fortune collapses."
The uncle said that this a deal of lifetime -device for draining swamps- and he is going to test it on the island located about ten miles up the river. Youngster expressed some doubts about the necessity of such a long trip under a scorching sun and the uncle demanded that he would put him ashore. The major turn of the story happened when the narrator realizes his mistake, expressed support of the uncle's intentions and continued to help his uncle.
When they came to the island, the uncle seemed to notice somebody in the bush, but he was mistaken. The narrator and Yorpy cooperated with the old man and made a deal about searching for strangers on the island. Afterwards, they started an experiment with the new invented device. They continued their actions in that time even though the uncle understood that this experiment was going to fail. The uncle gave for youngster one advice "Boy, take my advice, and never try to invent anything but--happiness." and he said "Boy, I'm glad I've failed. I say, boy, failure has made a good old man of me. It was horrible at first, but I'm glad I've failed."
The last statement was said by the narrator after the death of his uncle with a great respect:
"I seemed to hear again his deep, fervent cry--"Praise be to God for the failure!"
My interpretation of the moral of this story, that action, aspiration is more important than results. The energy of an elderly uncle, this is what moves the progress. We see this energy from the beginning when he exclaimed "Come, hurrah” when the uncle refused the skeptical mood of his nephew when the old man passed his failure and concluded that it is not the end of the world and so on.
It often happens when the elderly people who worked with a great enthusiasm, begin to be ill as soon as they retire. But if they have hobbies, everything changes - they continue living active and happy life.
The importance of being involved in something interesting was illustrated through the statement which the old man said: "Boy, take my advice, and never try to invent anything but - happiness."
These are the links to the text and audio of the story:
https://www.accuracyproject.org/t-Mel...
http://www.morningshort.com/listen
Herman Melville is an American writer of the eighteenth century, well known for his novel "Moby-Dick". When I read this story and especially when I listened to the audio (both links for these resources put here after the essay) I had a feeling of that epoch. That was a time of great inventions, when the terms of New World (referring to America) and Old World (Europe) were commonly used. But nevertheless, I keep repeating that this story was not about inventions. Let's look to the plot of this story.
The narrator (he was called youngster in the story), a very young man, was called to help his uncle. After the short riding on the boat, the narrator saw his uncle and the servant of the uncle, Yorpy, who carried a heavy, big box. Yorpy put the box in the boat under many instructions given by the uncle such as "Put it in, you grizzled-headed cherub--put it in carefully, carefully! If that box bursts, my everlasting fortune collapses."
The uncle said that this a deal of lifetime -device for draining swamps- and he is going to test it on the island located about ten miles up the river. Youngster expressed some doubts about the necessity of such a long trip under a scorching sun and the uncle demanded that he would put him ashore. The major turn of the story happened when the narrator realizes his mistake, expressed support of the uncle's intentions and continued to help his uncle.
When they came to the island, the uncle seemed to notice somebody in the bush, but he was mistaken. The narrator and Yorpy cooperated with the old man and made a deal about searching for strangers on the island. Afterwards, they started an experiment with the new invented device. They continued their actions in that time even though the uncle understood that this experiment was going to fail. The uncle gave for youngster one advice "Boy, take my advice, and never try to invent anything but--happiness." and he said "Boy, I'm glad I've failed. I say, boy, failure has made a good old man of me. It was horrible at first, but I'm glad I've failed."
The last statement was said by the narrator after the death of his uncle with a great respect:
"I seemed to hear again his deep, fervent cry--"Praise be to God for the failure!"
My interpretation of the moral of this story, that action, aspiration is more important than results. The energy of an elderly uncle, this is what moves the progress. We see this energy from the beginning when he exclaimed "Come, hurrah” when the uncle refused the skeptical mood of his nephew when the old man passed his failure and concluded that it is not the end of the world and so on.
It often happens when the elderly people who worked with a great enthusiasm, begin to be ill as soon as they retire. But if they have hobbies, everything changes - they continue living active and happy life.
The importance of being involved in something interesting was illustrated through the statement which the old man said: "Boy, take my advice, and never try to invent anything but - happiness."
These are the links to the text and audio of the story:
https://www.accuracyproject.org/t-Mel...
http://www.morningshort.com/listen
August 15, 2016
I will always love "Bartleby the Scrivener," which I suppose is a high bar, because I was disappointed with many of these other Melville short stories. There are a few stories with mainly interesting overall ideas, and there are bits of funniness here and there. What bogged me down was his tendency toward over-writing, when it felt like Melville would try to pack endless descriptions of, say, boat riggings a la Moby Dick, into a ten-page short story about a guy and his chimney. Sometimes I would skim entire paragraphs, filtering them according to subjects & verbs, just to get a basic idea of what was HAPPENING to the main character, not just how he and his outfit (or whatever) LOOKED and FELT. Also, I am coming to realize Melville is overall a little preachy for me. Guess I'll never read Moby Dick.
October 27, 2016
As Tina Turner once sang (or still sings), Melville is simply the best. Sure he might've been a penniless failure and wrote short stories titled "The Happy Failure" and "I and My Chimney" but his written word lives on.
Dude had sick literary chops.
People, even today, slap his quotes on coffee mugs: http://www.mhpbooks.com/merchandise/mug/.
Love me some Melville. Start with his short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" if you're new to his writing.
Dude had sick literary chops.
People, even today, slap his quotes on coffee mugs: http://www.mhpbooks.com/merchandise/mug/.
Love me some Melville. Start with his short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" if you're new to his writing.
June 11, 2011
I only got through one story (I thought it was a novel, not a book of short stories - doh!), and the ending was not fantastic, but the story was interesting, and the language is rich and the characters well drawn.
July 23, 2023
Worth the read to tackle some Melville, but informative on the outright density of his writing. Moby Dick still beckons as the monumental classic it is, but as a long-term project.
At least that's what stands out two years later.
At least that's what stands out two years later.
September 7, 2009
The "bonus" story wasn't supergreat, but I'm not counting it against the Melville collection, which contained some excellent works.
September 21, 2009
Melville is a charming and great writer. I loved his short stories--very readable and clever. Can't wait to read MORE of his works!
August 17, 2017
This was somethig of a struggle. Some stories I was just unable to grasp. I loved the evocation of the temple And was glad to read Bartelby but some real stinkers also
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews