This text presents a comprehensive examination of astronomy in Herman Melville's works. It places Melville's many astronomical citations within the thematic context of the works in which they appear and within the larger cultural and historical context of 19th-century studies.

Astronomy fascinated Herman Melville and provided an important and recurring theme in all his writing. He was inspired by uranography, stellar lore, ancient philosophical notions about the nature of the universe, and discoveries and speculations in contemporary astronomy. In Herman Melville: Stargazer Brett Zimmerman investigates Melville's knowledge and literary uses of astronomy, especially within the thematic contexts of Mardi, Clarel, and Billy Budd.