Nautical & Marine Fiction
Showing all 10 results
A Cruise in an Opium Clipper
Eamont was an opium clipper built in Cowes. It was the subject of an 1891 book, A cruise in an opium clipper, by Captain Lindsay Anderson. Eamont was involved in the opening of Japan to foreigners in 1858, serving as a dispatch boat between Nagasaki and Shanghai, and was one of the first vessels to open up a trade with Formosa?. The Eamont was sent on some very dangerous trips. She was one of the first vessels to open up a trade with Formosa, and made the first survey of the port of Taku, which she entered by bumping over the reef in spite of a tremendous surf beating upon it at the time, a most daring performance. And in her efforts to trade with the Formosans she had to withstand the attack of hundreds of armed natives right on top of a typhoon, which she succeeded in riding out on her moorings. But the captain of the Eamont was a famous fighting man, as the Chinese pirates knew to their cost?. The Eamont was also employed in the negotiations for the first commercial treaty with Japan. (See Wikipedia article on Eamont (schooner)) – Summary by Wikipedia and david wales
Abandoned
We meet Miss Lucretia Lane as she is dressing for her marriage to Captain Francis Reynolds of the British Merchant Service. Though he loves her truly, she has severe misgivings. She goes through with the wedding in spite of this, but refuses to live with her new husband, and cannot be enticed or cajoled to do so. Then on the day the Captain is scheduled to ship out, she receives word that he has been gravely injured and his dying request is to see his wife. She flies to his side… and thus begins an adventure spanning eight years – love, loathing, shipwreck, love lost, and redemption. (Summary by P. Cunningham and Nadine Eckert-Boulet)
Blake of the “Rattlesnake”
Fred Jane, who later went on to publish his famous “Jane’s Fighting Ships”, doubtless was noting the success of other books that forecast a British defeat in the event of war in the late 19th century when he wrote this fictional account of “The Man Who Saved England.” Jane tells of a possible war against both France and Russia with plenty of verve and derring-do amid naval battles, both small and large. – Summary by Mark
Sea Stories
Most of us have passed through a period of life during which we have ardently longed to be, if not actually a rover, a buccaneer, or a pirate, at least and really a sailor! To run away to sea has been the misdirected ambition of many a youngster, and some lads there are who have realized their desire to their sorrow. The boy who has not cherished in his heart and exhibited in his actions at sometime or other during his youthful days, a love of ships and salt water, is fit for?well, he is fit for the shore, and that is the worst thing a sailor could say about him! (From the introduction, by Cyrus Townsend Brady)
The Adventures of Captain Hatteras, Part 1: The English at the North Pole
The novel, set in 1861, describes adventures of British expedition led by Captain John Hatteras to the North Pole. Hatteras is convinced that the sea around the pole is not frozen and his obsession is to reach the place no matter what. Mutiny by the crew results in destruction of their ship but Hatteras, with a few men, continues on the expedition. ( Wikipedia)
The Adventures of Captain Hatteras, Part 2: The Field of Ice
The novel, set in 1861, describes adventures of British expedition led by Captain John Hatteras to the North Pole. Hatteras is convinced that the sea around the pole is not frozen and his obsession is to reach the place no matter what. Mutiny by the crew results in destruction of their ship but Hatteras, with a few men, continues on the expedition. (Wikipedia)
The Boats of the ‘Glen Carrig’
Eighteenth-century sailors adrift in a lifeboat encounter strange lands and weird creatures in their search for home. A creepy tale of nautical adventure. – Summary by Jason Mills
The Copper Princess
The Copper Princess: A Story of Lake Superior Mines is an adventure set in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The delightful story features a brave and wholesome hero struggling for his rightful copper mining inheritance against smugglers and bandits. He also encounters a beautiful and mysterious maiden who is caught in her father’s secret crimes. [Summary by Brenda Price] Note: This book contains racial comments that may be offensive to modern listeners.
The Cruise of the Esmeralda
After his father died, Captain Saint Leger and his family are left destitute. However, the Saint Legers have a family secret: an ancestor is said to have buried a vast fortune in gold and jewels somewhere in the Eastern Seas. The catch: all directions are encrypted. Nevertheless, Captain Saint Leger decides to take a chance and sails east. A journey full of adventure begins, including pirates, storms and mutiny… (Summary by Carolin)
The Fearsome Island
No ordinary sailor’s tale, this. Based allegedly on the real experiences of Silas Fordred, Master Mariner of Hythe, this is a story of shipwreck on an uncharted island and his supernatural adventures there with a witch, a hairy man, and various devilish devices and traps. The author, Kinross, adds an appendix purporting to explain the marvels which Fordred encountered. Kinross claims to have stolen the sailor’s original account from Hythe Town Hall while helping the Town Clerk to sort newly discovered old papers. This is credible, as it is well-known that there were many such documents rescued from destruction in the late nineteenth century. The names of Fordred and his shipmate Snoad are also old-established Hythe families. However, even if Fordred’s account is mentioned in the annals of Hythe Borough, it is impossible to know how much was invented by Kinross. “Believe or doubt!” the author says. Much as I would like to believe, I know which way I incline. (Introduction by Ruth Golding)