Billy Budd, Sailor, Herman Melville
Billy Budd, Sailor, Herman Melville
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Billy Budd, Sailor

Author: Herman Melville

Narrator: Frank Muller

Unabridged: 3 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 01/16/2008

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

Critically acclaimed for more than 100 years, Herman Melville's sea tale, Billy Budd, is considered to be one of the small masterpieces of American fiction. An engaging plot on the surface, the exciting yarn set in 1791 also raises profound questions about the very nature of man himself. Handsome, young Billy Budd is well-liked by the other sailors aboard the British warship, the H.M.S. Indomitable. But the ship's cruel Master-at-Arms, insanely jealous of Billy's popularity, falsely accuses Billy of fomenting mutiny. Attempting to defend himself, the young sailor strikes out-only to find himself facing an even more serious charge. His years working on whaleships enabled Herman Melville to create realistic characters in authentic settings. The battle between good and evil, conscience and honor bursts from the page with Frank Muller's stirring narration.

Author Bio

Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and poet who is often classified as part of dark romanticism. He is best known for his novel Moby Dick and novella Billy Budd, the latter which was published posthumously. His first three books gained much attention, the first becoming a bestseller, but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early twentieth century that his work won recognition, most notably Moby Dick, which was hailed as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.

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