The wager by David Grann
In 1742, two decrepit vessels land within six months of each other on opposite sides of the South American continent. Both ships are piloted by starving and desperate men. Both groups have made arduous journeys from the island on which they were shipwrecked months before. Both groups are peopled by sailors from the lost British warship the HMS Wager. Most importantly however, both groups have very different stories to tell of how they survived.
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder is an epic non-fiction tale of adventure, disaster, mayhem and endurance. From its almost comically ill-omened beginning as a member of a secret British naval mission to attack Spanish forces in Chile, to its careless running aground in Patagonia, author David Grann leads his readers on an astonishing journey onboard an 18th century warship.
We follow the crew of the Wager from recruitment by press gang in expansionist England, through severe typhoid and scurvy epidemics to the most dangerous passage for ships in the world: the journey around Cape Horn where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet. We witness a shipwreck, mutiny and murder before unexpected salvation, followed closely by an extraordinary trial, to determine, once and for all, the truth of what occurred.
Although backed up by both primary and secondary historical sources, Grann’s account of the events which befell the crew of the Wager reads like a fictional adventure story; so extreme are both the disasters and the displays of human endurance contained within its pages. The Wager is an incredibly entertaining and well-written piece of historical non-fiction and is highly recommended.
Themes: Historical non-fiction, Adventure, Disaster, Sea voyages, Mutiny, Danger.
Rose Tabeni
