Billy Budd, Sailor

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: Duncan Brownlehe

Billy Budd, Sailor is a novella by Herman Melville which was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1891. Ecstatically received by critics in 1924 when a hastily transcribed version was published, it soon became second in importance only to Moby Dick among the author’s works. Budd is a sailor who strikes and inadvertently kills John Claggart, the Master-at-arms. The ship's Captain, Edward Vere, is aware of Budd's lack of intent but the law of mutiny requires him to sentence Billy to be hanged.

Billy Budd, Sailor is a short but arresting tale of good and evil and the sometimes exasperating injustice of circumstance. Billy Budd has been adapted into film, a stage play, and an opera.

Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks