Billy Budd, Sailor

Herman Melville's priviliged childhood ended in his early adolescence, when his father became mentally ill; he left school at thirteen, working various jobs to support his family. At nineteen he became a sailor, accumulating as a whaler and naval seaman the experiences which inspired the adventure stories of his novels. Melville's writings had little popular appreciation until the 1920's, when American readers came to appreciate the gripping narrative and rich philosophical allegories of such sea stories as Omoo, the posthumously-published Billy Budd, Foretopman, and Melville's greatest work, Moby-Dick.