Island of the Lost

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1864 Captain Thomas Musgrave and his crew of four aboard the schooner Grafton wreck on the southern end of the island. Utterly alone in a dense coastal forest, plagued by stinging blowflies and relentless rain, Captain Musgrave - rather than succumb to this dismal fate - inspires his men to take action. With barely more than their bare hands, they build a cabin and, remarkably, a forge, where they manufacture their tools. Under Musgrave's leadership, they band together and remain civilised through even the darkest and most terrifying days. Incredibly, at the same time on the opposite end of the island - twenty miles of impassable cliffs and chasms away - the Invercauld wrecks during a horrible storm. Nineteen men stagger ashore. Unlike Captain Musgrave, the captain of the Invercauld falls apart given the same dismal circumstances. His men fight and split up; some die of starvation, others turn to cannibalism. Only three survive. Musgrave and all of his men not only endure for nearly two years, they also plan their own astonishing escape, setting off on one of the most courageous sea voyages in history. Using the survivors journals and historical records, award-winning maritime historian Joan Druett brings this extraordinary untold story to life, a story about leadership and the fine line between order and chaos.

Reviews

"One of the finest survival stories I've read." --Seattle Times

"If the southern part of Auckland Island is all Robinson Crusoe, the northern part is more Lord of the Flies . . . Druett is an able and thorough guide . . . [She] shows that real leadership is rare and powerful." --The New York Times Book Review

"Druett's well-researched account earns its place in any good collection of survival literature." --Entertainment Weekly

"Those yearning for a classic man vs. nature, triumph-over-terrible-odds story, get ready to set sail." --Paste

"Swashbuckling maritime history reanimated by a noted naval enthusiast . . . Druett excels at recreating the men's struggles and desperation (tempered by boundless hope)." --Kirkus Reviews

"This is a fine addition to the genre of survival tales like Endurance or In the Heart of the Sea." --Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

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.