Description

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Hayford and Sealts's text was the first accurate version of Melville's final novel. Based on a close analysis of the manuscript, thoroughly annotated, and packaged with a history of the text and perspectives for its criticism, this edition will remain the definitive version of a profoundly suggestive story.

About the Author

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Harrison Hayford (1916-2001) was professor of English at Northwestern University and was considered the world’s most influential Melville scholar. He was general editor of the multivolume Northwestern-Newberry edition of "The Writings of Herman Melville."

Praise For…

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“The texts are impeccably accurate. . . . The collection is accompanied by an unobtrusive but expert annotation. . . . Probably Melville’s finest short work, the incomplete ‘Billy Budd,’ [is] a striking reworking of the crucifixion set in the English maritime service of the Revolutionary period.”
— John Sutherland