I picked this book up because the picture captured my attention. I was sure I had seen it somewhere before. Turning to the first page I began to read. By the end of the first paragraph, my decision was made – the book was coming home with me.
Once I was home I had more chance to explore and read some of the small print. The bottom of the inside back leaf of the jacket gave me the answer to question in my head. Yes, I had seen the image before, or something very like it in the Tate Gallery. The original is Ships in Distress in a Storm and dates from around 1720. The artist was Peter Monamy.
The question about the image settled, I started reading. Having started reading I found I couldn’t put this book down. Yes it is a true story, but the narrative flows like a novel. The story is as compelling as any plot for a tome in the historical crime genre. Indeed, some of the twists and turns in this story, you just couldn‘t make up.
His Majesty’s Ship the Wager was a Britsh man-of-war that had set sail from Portsmouth as part of a squadron of vessels to capture a Spanish galleon known to be laden with gold and treasure in September 1740. The mission was secret, but some of the hundreds of men on board had kept journals and had written letters home. It is these documents, along with the captain’s official log, other required naval papers and some detailed historical research, that have provided the basis for the evidence for the book.
The story is told through the experiences of some of the crew, and in so doing, Grann has brought to life those who were actually at the events that occurred. Rather than being a desiccated set of evidential documents, the story is one of rivalry, petty jealousies, avarice and human behaviour in extreme conditions. All put together to create a coherent record of the ship’s journey, the life on board, the disasters encountered and the eventual return to England, which culminated in trials in the Courts Martial.
I really enjoyed this book. It felt as though I was witnessing living history as I turned each of the pages.
If you enjoyed this review, you might also like to read Metropolitain, a history of the Paris Metro; The Vanished Collection, a book about the recovery of stolen art; or Cursed Bread, a narrative created from the real incidence of a mass poisoning...
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