Billy Budd and Benito Cereno: Two Tales by Herman Melville | Heritage Press 1965

Intro by Maxwell Geismar Illustrated by Robert Shore Publisher: The Heritage Press, New York, USA © 1965 The George Macy Companies, Inc. 176 pgs Weight: 2.4 lbs Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative) is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quickly took its place as a classic second only to Moby-Dick among Melville's works. Billy Budd is a "handsome sailor" who strikes & inadvertently kills his false accuser, Master-at-arms John Claggart. The ship's Captain, Edward Vere, recognizes Billy's lack of intent, but claims that the law of mutiny requires him to sentence Billy to be hanged. The novella, Benito Cereno, is a fictionalized account about the revolt on a Spanish slave ship captained by Don Benito Cereno. In 1799 off the coast of Chile, Captain Amasa Delano of the American sealer & merchant ship Bachelor's Delight visits the San Dominick, a Spanish slave ship apparently in distress. After learning from Captain Cereno that a storm has taken many crewmembers & provisions, Delano offers to help out. He notices that Cereno acts awkwardly passive for a captain & the slaves display remarkably inappropriate behavior, & though this piques his suspicion he ultimately decides he's being paranoid. When he leaves the San Dominick & Captain Cereno jumps after him, he finally discovers that the slaves have taken command of the ship,