Billy Budd | Overview

The Life and Work of Herman Melville
Herman Melville was born in New York in 1819. His forebears were well-to-do and socially prominent, but his immediate family suffered from financial instability. His once prosperous household fell upon hard times. In 1832 his father’s bankruptcy and death cut short his formal education and forced him to give up hopes for a suitable career. He tried several jobs to help out his family, including teaching school and clerking in a bank. In 1839, when all his attempts to restore his family’s fortune had failed, Melville went to sea on a...

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