“The Almost True And Truly Remarkable Adventures Of Israel Potter, American Patriot”
Israel Potter (1744-? 1826) actually served as a soldier and sailor in the Revolutionary War. The play is based on Herman Melville's Israel Potter: His Fifty Years in Exile, which, in turn, was based on an obscure autobiography titled Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter. Melville discovered the book in London, describing it as a "tattered copy, rescued by the merest chance from the rag-pickers."
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