Billy Budd

Billy Budd

Written by:
Herman Melville
Narrated by:
Peter Joyce
A free trial credit cannot be used on this title

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
5
Narrator
2
Release Date
January 2006
Duration
3 hours 43 minutes
Summary
On one level Melville’s tale is an historical adventure story telling of life aboard ship shortly after the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. Billy is taken from a homeward bound merchantman to serve on the ‘Seventy Four’ HMS Indomitable. He falls foul of Claggart, the ‘Master at Arms’, and the final confrontation results in death. Billy becomes an unwilling martyr - what passes for justice must be implemented because of the rebellious climate of the time. However, below the surface lie some of Melville’s thematic obsessions: the aristocratic savage placed against an inhumanity born of service in time of war, innocence overtaken by fate and the worthy encompassed by the inevitable. The natures of evil and conscience are explored and ‘Billy Budd’ is the author’s “last word upon the strange mystery of himself and human destiny”. Melville is regarded by many as the finest author America has produced.
Browse By Category
Reviews
Profile Avatar
kent wright

Bily Budd is an exceptional work by Melville to read but hearing read so convincingly ads another level of wonder to this story.

1 book added to cart
Subtotal
$11.00
View Cart