Melville's Billy Budd at 100

A centenary study of Melvilles Billy Budd. Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative) is Herman Melvilles most-read book after Moby-Dick and is regularly taught in literature courses. A century after publication its textual history and interpretive criticism as a literary artifact continue to evolve. This book traces the bibliography of this evolution through numerous reading, genetic, and fluid editions, as well as critical and biographical works illustrating the ranges of approaches to and appreciation of Melvilles great unfinished text.