--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No highbrow literary type would ever say…" description: "\"No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important if she wasn't just writin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg" --- # No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is… ![“No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important if she wasn't just writing about romantic relationships.” quote by Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg) > “No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important if she wasn't just writing about romantic relationships.” [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literary value isn’t limited to highbrow topics; all genres can hold significance. **In simple terms:** Every story can matter, regardless of subject. Key Takeaway Read broadly, value diverse narratives. Themes literature inclusion value genre perception Mood reflective critical inquisitive Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - school curricula - book clubs - personal reading choices - publishing decisions Key Concepts cultural bias subjectivity literary merit Questions to Reflect On - What makes a book “important” to you? - How do you judge literary worth? A Different Perspective Some may argue that literary merit is subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moby/) [Moby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moby-dick/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Romantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic/) [Whale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whale/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Then there are actors my age like Ethan Hawke, he's in 'Moby Dick,' I love his work. I've been lucky. Alfred Molina, he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-boyd/then-there-are-actors-my-age-like-ethan-hawke-he-s-in-moby-dick-i/) [Billy Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-boyd/) > [I'm so optimistic, I'd go after Moby Dick in a rowboat and take the tartar sauce with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/i-m-so-optimistic-i-d-go-after-moby-dick-in-a-rowboat-and-take-the/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [The thing about Moby Dick is that, at heart, it's a very simple plot - there's only one white whale in the ocean. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-o-connor/the-thing-about-moby-dick-is-that-at-heart-it-s-a-very-simple-plot/) [Gavin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-o-connor/) > ['Baltimore' the series is inspired by all kinds of things, from 'Moby Dick' to 'Dracula.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-golden/baltimore-the-series-is-inspired-by-all-kinds-of-things-from-moby/) [Christopher Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-golden/) > [As any student of literature knows, the books that last are often not the books that are most popular when they are written. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/as-any-student-of-literature-knows-the-books-that-last-are-often-not/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Moby Dick - that book is so amazing. I just realized that it starts with two characters meeting in bed; that's how my book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/moby-dick-that-book-is-so-amazing-i-just-realized-that-it-starts-with/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Sometimes, readers, when they're young, are given, say, a book like 'Moby Dick' to read. And it is an interesting, complicated book, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/sometimes-readers-when-they-re-young-are-given-say-a-book-like-moby/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“Now the various species of whales need some sort of popular comprehensive classification, if only an easy outline one for the present, hereafter to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/now-the-various-species-of-whales-need-some-sort-of-popular/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I think people have the wrong idea of 'Moby Dick' as this somber, boring thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/i-think-people-have-the-wrong-idea-of-moby-dick-as-this-somber-boring/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [I love to read. I was in AP English in high school, and we were assigned books every few months. 'Moby Dick' and 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-boldman/i-love-to-read-i-was-in-ap-english-in-high-school-and-we-were/) [Spencer Boldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-boldman/) > [If you live on Nantucket, you can't avoid its history, and 'Moby Dick' is the way most of us get into Nantucket's history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/if-you-live-on-nantucket-you-can-t-avoid-its-history-and-moby-dick-is/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [When facing a difficult task, act as though it is impossible to fail. If you are going after Moby Dick, take along the tartar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/when-facing-a-difficult-task-act-as-though-it-is-impossible-to-fail/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [“The whale without Ahab is just a whale. A whale with no problems. A stress-free whale." - Julian Blackthorn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/the-whale-without-ahab-is-just-a-whale-a-whale-with-no-problems-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'll just be the whale in a bikini on spring break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-just-be-the-whale-in-a-bikini-on-spring-break/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Everyone experiences grace, even if they don't realize it. It's kind of like Moby's music. You could ask your average sixty-something-year-old retired banker in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-falsani/everyone-experiences-grace-even-if-they-don-t-realize-it-it-s-kind-of/) [Cathleen Falsani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-falsani/) ## More by Sophie Hannah > [I never write about CIA conspiracies or the FBI or mafia or anything like that because I just don't understand that world. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-never-write-about-cia-conspiracies-or-the-fbi-or-mafia-or-anything/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I am trying to write novels for properly clever people, but I also want them to be proper novels that also stick in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-am-trying-to-write-novels-for-properly-clever-people-but-i-also/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [My father, whose hobby was collecting secondhand cricket books, came back from a book fair one day with a copy of 'The Body In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/my-father-whose-hobby-was-collecting-secondhand-cricket-books-came/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [“That's not me talking, it's your inner voice. I'd attempt the accent, only I don't speak low self-esteem. It's a language I've never needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/that-s-not-me-talking-it-s-your-inner-voice-i-d-attempt-the-accent/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [“What they'd got was a fat, balding academic who bandied about the phrase "family annihilation", especially when there were cameras pointed at him, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/what-they-d-got-was-a-fat-balding-academic-who-bandied-about-the/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [In West Yorkshire, I'd have to drive three quarters of an hour to go shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/in-west-yorkshire-i-d-have-to-drive-three-quarters-of-an-hour-to-go/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [There are very few well-adjusted people in my books. But I do think that's normal. Because everyone does have their issues and hang-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/there-are-very-few-well-adjusted-people-in-my-books-but-i-do-think/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [With me, even if my life depended on it, I wouldn't be able to cry. Not with somebody there. Because even if I'm talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/with-me-even-if-my-life-depended-on-it-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-cry-not/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [If you ask people if they enjoy crime novels, they'll say, 'Oh, my guilty pleasure is...' then name a really brilliant crime writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/if-you-ask-people-if-they-enjoy-crime-novels-they-ll-say-oh-my-guilty/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [In a crime novel, if you are going to have a big revelation in chapter 30, you have to plant the information in chapters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/in-a-crime-novel-if-you-are-going-to-have-a-big-revelation-in-chapter/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [All through childhood, I wrote verses and mysteries. There is, for me, one connection: structure. My poetry is metrical, rhyming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/all-through-childhood-i-wrote-verses-and-mysteries-there-is-for-me/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I always notice the dysfunctional dynamic of human relationships because most places where you encounter it, people are trying to pretend it isnt happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-always-notice-the-dysfunctional-dynamic-of-human-relationships/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I'm not cut out to lug babies around!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-m-not-cut-out-to-lug-babies-around/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [Some writers, I'm told, look for their characters' surnames in telephone directories. I don't - it seems too obvious. Or too deliberate: if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/some-writers-i-m-told-look-for-their-characters-surnames-in-telephone/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [When my children were very young, I was slated to go on a business trip. When it was nearly canceled, I decided I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/when-my-children-were-very-young-i-was-slated-to-go-on-a-business/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) [Explore all 86 Sophie Hannah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) Browse all 26,122 About quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important if she wasn't just writing about romantic relationships.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sophie Hannah" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say-moby-dick-is-good-but-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say-moby-dick-is-good-but-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/sophie-hannah-7581_about_no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say_322941.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen…” — Sophie Hannah", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sophie Hannah", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No highbrow literary type would ever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say-moby-dick-is-good-but-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say-moby-dick-is-good-but-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```