Billy Budd

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Billy Budd, an orphaned, illegitimate child suffused with innocence, openness, and natural charisma, has been impressed into service aboard the HMS Bellipotent. He is adored by the crew, but for unexplained reasons arouses the antagonism of the ship's Master-at-Arms John Claggart, who falsely accuses Billy of conspiracy to mutiny.

Set in 1797, Herman Melville's Billy Budd exploits the tension of this period during the war between England and France to create a tale of satanic treachery, tragedy and great pathos that explores human relationships and the inherently ambiguous nature of man-made justice.

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

" Billy Budd has excited the most admiration and commentary of any work by Melville except Moby-Dick. It has the translucence and the loose weave of last works. A lifetime sifts into it. Whenever Melville ventures onto shipboard, the reader feels the deck beneath his feet." (John Updike)
"In this last of Melville's works, published posthumously, the author dramatized the clash between natural goodness and innocence as personified by Billy Budd, and unprovoked evil as embodied in Claggart." ( Masterpieces of World Literature)

Billy's interview with Vere

Sometimes a book is written so well that what is not written is most important.

Sad but beautiful story

Didn’t expect this story would be as moving as it is. Available for free. Thank you.

Delivers a punch!

Whew! Quite a powerful short story! Set in 1997 aboard a English war ship this story about a an able seaman held appeal to me as an aficionado of sailing ships & its crews. This fiction occurs in that labile period shortly after the English Navy mutinies & not long before Nelson’s feats. I found it necessary to plow through excessive descriptive sentences characteristic of the writing style of Melville’s time but after all the characters were developed the storyline smooths out to become a gripping tale that I won’t soon forget. 

Verbose

It seems the author was fond of using as many syllables as possible when fewer would suffice.

Didactic

The story of Billy Budd is timeless and burns with a gemlike flame but the writing feels instructive and preachy. The performance here is strangely wooden, more recitation than embodiment.

a great Voyage of a story

a wonderful day all the voyage and a life Billy Budd. another great story by Herman Melville

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book to be relatable and generally intelligent. I further highly recommend this book.

Wonderful!

Stefan Rudnicki’s voice alone is worth the listen. Melville’s now archaic language and style is a wonderful treat, full of interestingly constructed sentences and rich word choices. I found myself smiling and even laughing out loud in spite of myself at the sheer joy of masterful writing. Melville is a legend for a reason.

The story unwinds with a sense of foreboding, a tacit knowledge of approaching tragedy, and finishes in moving prose. Let this sea tale and Rudnicki’s sonorous baritone roll you into another time and place as a great audiobook ought.

Wow

So many words. It was difficult to hear the story through all of those unnecessary words.

Intriguing narration, classic historical fiction.

The narrator’s voice is rich and soothing, but the English accent he imitated was poorly done. Good consistency in the uniqueness of each voice of the characters.