Captains Courageous (Bantam Classics) - Softcover

Kipling, Rudyard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553211900 ISBN 13: 9780553211900

Publisher: Bantam Classics, 1985

Synopsis

The only one of Kipling's novels to be cast in an American setting, Captains Courageous endures as one of literature's most cherished and memorable sea adventures. Harvey Cheyne, spoiled millionaire's son, tumbles overboard from a luxury liner--only to be rescued by the crew of a Gloucester schooner. Thus begins the boy's second voyage into the rugged rites and ways of sailors. Like all Kipling's masterworks, Captains Courageous is an interweaving of art and moral purpose. Angus Wilson has said that it shows "delicacy of craft and violence of feeling, exactitude and wile impressionism, subtlety and true innocence." A popular favorite since its first publication in 1897, the novel remains a classic story of youthful initiation--and a lively tribute to the author's famous code of bravery, loyalty, and honor among men.

About this title

From the Back Cover

At the start of Captains Courageous, one of literature's most beloved stories of the sea, a spoiled rich boy is literally swept away dashed overboard from an ocean liner. Luckily, young Harvey Cheyne is rescued by a passing fishing vessel.As it turns out, Harvey's apparent misfortune in tumbling from a life of pampered luxury into the humble company of a fishing schooner becomes a blessing in disguise. Compelled by the captain to earn his keep, Harvey loses his affectations as he learns the rewards of an honest day's labor amid the gruff and hearty companionship of the crewmen, who teach him to be worth his salt as they fish the waters off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
Readers of all ages have delighted in Kipling's engaging maritime yarn since its initial appearance in 1897. The author's only novel to unfold in an American setting, this lively tale resounds with Kipling's customary blend of adventure and humor. This attractive new edition, unabridged and inexpensive, offers an irresistible invitation to a master storyteller's enduring tale of a boy's initiation into adulthood.Dover (1999) unabridged republication of a standard edition."

About the Author

RUDYARD KIPLING was born in Bombay, India, to British parents on December 30, 1865. In 1871 Rudyard and his sister, Trix, aged three, were left to be cared for by a couple in Southsea, England. Five years passed before he saw his parents again. His sense of desertion and despair were later expressed in his story Baa Baa, Black Sheep (1888), in his novel The Light That Failed (1890), and in his autobiography, Something of Myself (1937). As late as 1935 Kipling still spoke bitterly of the House of Desolution at Southsea: "I should like to burn it down and plough the place with salt."

Kipling and his wife settled in Brattleboro, Vermont, where Kipling wrote The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), and most of Captains Courageous (1897). By this time Kipling's popularity and financial success were enormous.

In 1899 the Kiplings settled in Sussex, England, where he wrote some of his best books: Kim (1901), Just So Stories (1902), and Puck of Pook's Hill (1906). In 1907 he received the Nobel Prize for literature. By the time he died, on January 18, 1936, critical opinion was deeply divided about his writings, but his books continued to be read by thousands.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Classics
• Publication date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0553211900
• ISBN 13: 9780553211900
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 176