Product Description

Harvey Cheyne is the over-indulged son of a millionaire. When he falls overboard from an ocean liner her is rescued by a Portuguese fisherman and, initially against his will, joins the crew of the We're Here for a summer. Through the medium of an exciting adventure story, Captain's Courageous (1897) deals with a boy who, like Mowgli in The Jungle Book, is thrown into an entirely alien environment. This is the only edition of the novel in print, and it offers a stimulating introduction and detailed notes which help readers navigate among the historical, geographical, and maritime references found in the book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #174764 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780199554836
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
`a scholarly introduction and entertainingly pedantic notes ... in the hands of such a powerful storyteller, the theme of redemption through ordeal remains a seductive one' Books for Keeps

About the Author
Leonee Ormand is Reader in English at King's College, London.

Customer Reviews

No Pirates; Spoiled Rich Brat Comes of Age with Earthy Fishermen
Seriously, watch the movie instead. This 'classical' work is full of accents (o -> aou, as in naouw rather than now) and nautical jargon. Deciphering them detracts from the experience of reading.

Harvey Cheyne falls off his cruise line and gets picked up by poor fishermen. They don't believe he's rich and make him work, beating the bad habits out of him (violence solves problems, nice life lesson). Harvey accepts his situation unrealistically fast. The major conflict is over within twenty-five pages, and swiftly the novel is reduced to a tedium of everyday life on a fishing boat circa 1890, English waters. The other high point (near the end) is Harvey having a heart-to-heart talk with his Dad about his adventures.

So, good beginning and end, but tedious and boring middle. This is more of a window into old fisher customs than a coming-of-age novel. As a man's man, Captain Long Jack finds his way into derivative works, and I was curious enough to read the original. This 'classic' work needs modern editing for readability and story flow.

Check out more reviews under the Kindle edition link below, if curious. I read the physical book, so that's what I've reviewed.

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling. Published by MobileReference (mobi).