Billy Budd: Sailor

Classic Short Stories

Seafaring Tales

Billy Budd

Sailor

Herman Melville

Billy Budd, Sailor is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, first published posthumously in London in 1924. Melville began writing the work in November 1888, but left it unfinished at his death in 1891. It was acclaimed by British critics as a masterpiece when published in London, and quickly took its place among the canon of significant works in the United States.

The plot follows Billy Budd, a seaman impressed int...