Boon Island : Including Contemporary Accounts of the Wreck of the *Nottingham Galley*
Overview
This classic tale of shipwreck and survival is reprinted in a new edition, with essays that provide a historical perspective and trace the sources from which Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957) drew his tale. A native Mainer, Roberts, whose historical novels include Northwest Passage and Arundel, was intrigued by the story of the December 1710 wreck of the Nottingham. After running aground a dozen miles offshore, the ship broke up, stranding her crew with minimal tools, scant shelter, and a few pieces of cheese. The men survived nearly a month of screeching gales, sub-freezing temperatures, and driving snowstorms. During their ordeal they resorted to cannibalism and were finally rescued after one of them made it ashore on a crude raft. Included here are contemporary accounts from crew members, offering dramatically different versions of the true-life traumatic event and a fascinating counterpoint to Roberts' fictionalized version. A bestseller when published in 1956, Boon Island is a story of the ways that crisis can inspire the best - and worst - in human nature.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780874517446
- ISBN-10: 0874517443
- Publisher: University Press of New England
- Publish Date: March 1995
- Dimensions: 8.54 x 5.54 x 1.11 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
- Page Count: 385
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