Billy Budd and the Piazza Tales Author:Herman Melville Billy Budd and the Piazza Tales present Melville at his bests in his efforts to entertain and to provide, in his words, "more reality than real life itself can show." — The allegorical Billy Budd, about a singularly handsome, pristine youth who becomes a tragic legend on the frigate Indomitable, is Melville's final statement on "the mystery of in... more »iquity." Finished just before his death in 1891, the novel was not published until 1924, when its appearance helped to secure Melville's recognition as one of America's literary giants.« less