Synopses & Reviews
More than two centuries after Masterandrsquo;s Mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against Lieutenant William Bligh on a small, armed transport vessel called Bounty, the true story of this enthralling adventure has become obscured by the legend. Combining vivid characterization and deft storytelling, Caroline Alexander shatters the centuries-old myths surrounding this story. She brilliantly shows how, in a desperate attempt to save one man from the gallows and another from ignominy, two powerful families came together and began to create the version of history we know today. The true story of the mutiny on the Bounty is an epic of duty and heroism, pride and power, and the assassination of a brave manandrsquo;s honor at the dawn of the Romantic age.
Review
"Alexander's reconstruction of the mutiny and its aftermath...is almost as remarkable as Bligh's feat....Alexander's work is destined to become the definitive, enthralling history of a great seafaring adventure." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[F]ast-reading and gripping....[A]n in-depth, well-researched look at all the elements that went into the history-making event....A rollicking sea adventure told with enormous confidence and style." Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"A great sea story, handled with dexterity to capture characters and circumstances with faithfulness to the record and a steady feeling of anticipation for history in the making." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Alexander has risen to the demands of an epic, adding even more resonance to one of the greatest mysteries of the sea." Eric Sorensen, The Seattle Times
Review
"As Caroline Alexander argues in this meticulously researched and smoothly readable revisionist history, the central part of the Bounty legend that William Bligh was a tyrannical captain and Fletcher Christian a heroic rebel simply is not true." Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
Review
"A sea mist hangs over this age-old tale. Alexander dispels it, to the reader's fascination. But when all the facts are told and the fates of the cast are duly chronicled, the sea mist settles in again, as impenetrable and yet more interesting than it has ever been." Verlyn Klinkenborg, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
More than two centuries after Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against Lieutenant William Bligh on a small, armed transport vessel called Bounty, the true story of this enthralling adventure has become obscured by the legend. Combining vivid characterization and deft storytelling, Caroline Alexander shatters the centuries-old myths surrounding this story. She brilliantly shows how, in a desperate attempt to save one man from the gallows and another from ignominy, two powerful families came together and began to create the version of history we know today. The true story of the mutiny on the Bounty is an epic of duty and heroism, pride and power, and the assassination of a brave man's honor at the dawn of the Romantic age.
Synopsis
Has history been wrong for 200 years? Read the startling truth about the mutiny on the Bounty, its characters, causes, and aftermath. Television rights are now in development with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions. More than two centuries after Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against Lieutenant William Bligh on a small, armed transport vessel called Bounty, the true story of this enthralling adventure has become obscured by the legend. Combining vivid characterization and deft storytelling, Caroline Alexander shatters the centuries-old myths surrounding this story. She brilliantly shows how, in a desperate attempt to save one man from the gallows and another from ignominy, two powerful families came together and began to create the version of history we know today. The true story of the mutiny on the Bounty is an epic of duty and heroism, pride and power, and the assassination of a brave man's honor at the dawn of the Romantic age.
Synopsis
In giving the story its historical due, Alexander focuses on the court-martial of the mutineers who were captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in England. This fresh perspective revivifies the entire saga, and the salty, colorful language of the men conjures up the events of that morning in 1789.
About the Author
Caroline Alexander has written for The New Yorker, Granta, Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian, Outside, and National Geographic and is the author of four previous books.
Table of Contents
The Bounty
Ship's Company Author's Note
Prelude
Pandora
Bounty
Voyage Out
Tahiti
Mutiny
Return
Portsmouth
Court-Martial
Defense
Sentence
Judgment
Latitude 25and#176; S, Longitude 130and#176; W
Home Is The Sailor
A Note on Sources
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index