Billy Budd and Other Stories


Stung by the critical reception and lack of commercial success of his previous two works, Moby-Dick and Pierre, Herman Melville became obsessed with the difficulties of communicating his vision to readers. His sense of isolation lies at the heart of these later works. "Billy Budd, Sailor," a classic confrontation between good and evil, is the story of an innocent young man unable to defend himself against a wrongful accusation. The other selections here-"Bartleby," "The Encantadas," "Benito Cereno," and "The Piazza"-also illuminate, in varying guises, the way fictions are created and shared with a wider society. In his introduction Frederick Busch discusses Melville's preoccupation with his "correspondence with the world," his quarrel with silence, and why fiction was, for Melville, "a matter of life and death."

Author(s): Herman Melville  

ISBN 10: 0140390537
ISBN 13: 9780140390537
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Publication: April 1986
Edition: Reprint
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4. Apple Tree Table, And Other Sketches (BCL1-PS American Literature) (January 1922)
5. Arena Bibliothek der Abenteuer, Bd.2, Moby Dick (1999/11/01)
6. BARTERBLY THE SCRIBNER LT (July 2000)
7. Bartleby Paperback - German (May 2012)
8. Bartleby Hardcover - German (May 2012)
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10. Bartleby (French Edition) (November 2007)
11. Bartleby and Benito Cereno Paperback (January 2011)
12. Bartleby and Benito Cereno Paperback (February 2012)
13. Bartleby el escribiente (January 1991)
14. Bartleby el escribiente (Bartleby the Scrivener) Paperback - Spanish (11/1/2007)
15. Bartleby Le Scribe Fo Bi Paperback - French (May 2003)
16. Bartleby Le Scribe Not Paperback - French (November 2010)

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