{"id":"01KG8AJP4EV6SX7RNBTT35J8WM","cid":"bafkreifju7qdqen6ymz54tdelpsmoh6zzvuepf2ymvcrl3aobmngnldc54","type":"frontmatter","properties":{"description":"# PREFACE\n## Overview\nThis is the preface to the novel \"Mardi: And a Voyage Thither\" by Herman Melville. It is a frontmatter document, dated January 1849, and was extracted from the file `mardi_vol1.txt`.\n\n## Context\nThe preface was written by the author as a response to skepticism he encountered after publishing previous narratives of Pacific voyages. He explains that he decided to write a fictional Polynesian adventure, \"Mardi,\" to see if a work of fiction might be accepted as truth, inverting his prior experience. This preface serves as an introduction to the novel and is part of the larger collection \"[Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)\".\n\n## Contents\nThe preface contains the author's reflections on the genesis of the novel \"Mardi.\" It includes the author's note stating that the book is a romance of Polynesian adventure and mentions the date and place of its writing: New York, January 1849. The preface is situated between the table of contents, labeled \"[CONTENTS](arke:01KG8AJP4EPBKM81PHDF343DAK)\", and the first chapter, \"[CHAPTER I. Foot In Stirrup](arke:01KG8AJP4C9JM2SWKWNSK1T0D6)\".","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:49:03.978Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"PREFACE","end_line":156,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:39.468Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"PREFACE","source_file":"01KG89J1HYC04JWXEK48P07WPK","start_line":136,"text":"PREFACE\r\n\r\n\r\nNot long ago, having published two narratives of voyages in the\r\nPacific, which, in many quarters, were received with incredulity, the\r\nthought occurred to me, of indeed writing a romance of Polynesian\r\nadventure, and publishing it as such; to see whether, the fiction might\r\nnot, possibly, be received for a verity: in some degree the reverse of\r\nmy previous experience.\r\n\r\nThis thought was the germ of others, which have resulted in Mardi. New\r\nYork, January, 1849.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMARDI\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"PREFACE"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJA6157W2830190N652KA","peer_type":"novel","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1HYC04JWXEK48P07WPK","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJP4EPBKM81PHDF343DAK","peer_type":"toc","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJP4C9JM2SWKWNSK1T0D6","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:39.662Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:49:05.251Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}