In the Wake of Madness: The Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon - Softcover

Druett, Joan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565124359 ISBN 13: 9781565124356

Publisher: Algonquin Books, 2004

Synopsis

After more than a century of silence, the true story of one of history's most notorious mutinies is revealed in Joan Druett's riveting "nautical murder mystery" (USA Today). On May 25, 1841, the Massachusetts whaleship Sharon set out for the whaling ground of the northwestern Pacific. A year later, while most of the crew was out hunting, Captain Howes Norris was brutally murdered. When the men in the whaleboats returned, they found four crew members on board, three of whom were covered in blood, the other screaming from atop the mast. Single-handedly, the third officer launched a surprise attack to recapture the Sharon, killing two of the attackers and subduing the other. An American investigation into the murder was never conducted--even when the Sharon returned home three years later, with only four of the original twenty-nine crew on board. Joan Druett, a historian who's been called a female Patrick O'Brian by the Wall Street Journal, dramatically re-creates the mystery of the ill-fated whaleship and reveals a voyage filled with savagery under the command of one of the most ruthless captains to sail the high seas.

About this title

About the Author

Joan Druett is a maritime historian and the award-winning author of several books, including Petticoat Whalers, She Was a Sister Sailor, Hen Frigates, Tupaia, and The Discovery of Tahiti. Her interest in maritime history began in 1984, when she discovered the grave of a young American whaling wife while exploring the tropical island of Rarotonga; she subsequently received a Fulbright fellowship to study whaling wives in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California. Her ground-breaking work in the field of seafaring women was also recognized with a L. Byrne Waterman Award. She is married to Ron Druett, a maritime artist.

From AudioFile

A small notice in a Sydney shipping publication in 1842 hinted of a bigger story: A Massachusetts-based whaling ship, the SHARON, was putting into port due to desertions and the murder of its captain. Parts of the story were publicized at the time, but other pieces remained secret for years. Joan Druett decided to take a closer look at events that may have inspired Herman Melville's TYPEE and MOBY-DICK. She investigated the journals and personal logs written at the time to find the characters and motives behind the unusual events. Dennis Boutsikaris goes beyond a dry, factual reading to create a gripping drama of cruelty on the seas, as suspenseful as any of Melville's fiction. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1565124359
• ISBN 13: 9781565124356
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304