Items related to In the Wake of Madness: The Muderous Voyage of the...
On May 25, 1841, the whaleship Sharon of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, set out for whaling grounds of the Pacific under the command of Captain Howes Norris. A year later, while most of the crew was out on the hunt, Norris remained at the helm with four crew members - three of them natives of the Pacific Islands. When the men in the whaleboats spied the Sharon's flag flying at half-mast - a signal of distress - they rowed toward the ship to discover their captain had been hacked to pieces and the murderers - the Pacific Islanders - brandishing weapons. The third officer, Benjamin Clough, swam through shark-infested waters and slipped through one of the windows, retaking the ship. Though news of Cough's courageous act spread, an American investigation into the crimes was never conducted - even when the Sharon returned home with only four of the original twenty-nine on board. The true story remained buried for over 150 years.
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About the Author:
Native New Zealander JOAN DRUETT is the author of eleven books on maritime history and historical fiction. She has been the recipient of a PEN/Hubert Church Award, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the John Lyman Award for Best Book of American Maritime History. She was a consultant for the award-winning "Seafaring Women" exhibition and has appeared as a guest speaker at maritime museums across the country. While much of her research is carried out in the United States, she lives in Wellington, New Zealand, with her husband, Ron.
From AudioFile:
A small notice in a Sydney shipping publication in 1842 hinted of a bigger story: A Massachusetts-based whaling ship, the SHARON, was putting into port due to desertions and the murder of its captain. Parts of the story were publicized at the time, but other pieces remained secret for years. Joan Druett decided to take a closer look at events that may have inspired Herman Melville's TYPEE and MOBY-DICK. She investigated the journals and personal logs written at the time to find the characters and motives behind the unusual events. Dennis Boutsikaris goes beyond a dry, factual reading to create a gripping drama of cruelty on the seas, as suspenseful as any of Melville's fiction. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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- PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 1869505360
- ISBN 13 9781869505363
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages292
- Rating
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In the Wake of Madness
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
(2004)
ISBN 10: 1869505360
ISBN 13: 9781869505363
Used
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. On May 25, 1841, the whaleship Sharon of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, set out for the whaling grounds of the northwestern Pacific under the command of Captain Howes Norris. A year later, while most of the crew was out on the hunt, Norris remained at the helm with four crew members - three of them natives from the Pacific Islands. When the men in the whaleboats spied the Sharon's flag flying at half-mast -a signal of distress- they rowed toward the ship to discover their Captain had been hacked to pieces. His murderers, the Pacific Islanders, were covered in blood and brandishing weapons. Unless the crew could retake the Sharon, their prospects of survival were slim. The nearest land was seven hundred miles away. In an astonishing single-handed recapture, the third officer, Benjamin Clough, swam through shark-infested waters in the dead of night, slipped through one of the cabin windows, and launched a surprise attack on the mutineers, killing two of them and overtaking the other. Though news of Clough's courageous act spread quickly through ports around the globe, an American investigation into the shipboard crimes was never conducted - even when the Sharon returned home three years later, with only four of the original twenty-nine crew on board. The true story of what happened aboard the Sharon remained buried for over 150 years. Through recently discovered journals of the ship's cooper and the third officer, award-winning maritime historian Joan Druett unearths the mystery of the ill-fated whaleship. Dramatically and meticulously recreating the events of the Sharon, Druett pieces together a voyage filled with savagery and madness under the command of one of the most ruthless captains to sail the high seas. Like The Pirate Hunter and Blue Latitudes, In the Wake of Madness brings to life a riveting story and exposes the secrets that followed the men of the Sharon to their graves. Name in front, cover edges curling. Seller Inventory # 9034715
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Stock Image
In the Wake of Madness
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers
(2004)
ISBN 10: 1869505360
ISBN 13: 9781869505363
Used
paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description paperback. Condition: Very Good. Book is in very good condition. All pages are intact and unmarked. Seller Inventory # G0268584
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