Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication Date: 11th May 2023
This atmospheric and mysterious non-fiction text by David Grann, opens on the 28th of January 1742 where a dilapidated wooden vessel appears on the coast of Brazil. Inside the vessel are 30 men, who have experienced the extremities of the sea and starvation traversing thousands of miles seeking salvation. They were crew members of His Majesty’s ship The Wager, which had left England two years previously on a secret war mission against Spain but had been believed to have been shipwrecked early in its mission. Greeted as heroes, they told narratives of violence, mutiny and an authoritarian captain who had been responsible for their calamity. However, six months later, an even more dilapidated vessel appears on the coast of Chile. This wreck contained three other men, who also served on The Wager, who have a very different perspective of events and the dominant narrative.
The book explores the allegations of treachery, the divisions that grew between the men as well as the horror of their living conditions. The case went to trial and each side vehemently pushed the truth of their depiction. If found guilty of such accusations, the court could find them guilty. Truth finding, when it comes to historical events like this, is always tricky to arrive at and they author has done a fantastic job of bringing his research to the fore in a way that is gripping and incredibly tense. It as much an exploration of human endurance as it is an historical document examining the story of this ill-fated ship. A thoroughly engaging read and one that definitely requires a second read
Currently Reading 