Unjustly accused of plotting mutiny, Billy Budd and his accuser are called to give account to the captain. Unable to answer due to a speech impediment, Billy Budd lashes out and accidentally kills his accuser, setting in motion a court martial that sets his life at stake. 166 pages, softcover.
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Billy Budd, Sailor has been called the best short novel ever written. In his brilliantly condensed prose, Herman Melville fashions a legal parable in which reason and intellect prove incapable of preserving innocence in the face of evil. For all those who feel themselves threatened by a hostile and inflexible environment, there is special significance in this haunting story of a handsome sailor who becomes a victim of man’s intransigence.
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