Boon Island: Including Contemporary Accounts of the Wreck of the *Nottingham Galley*

by Kenneth Roberts

This classic tale of shipwreck and survival is reprinted in a new edition, with essays that provide a historical perspective and trace the sources from which Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957) drew his tale. A native Mainer, Roberts, whose historical novels include Northwest Passage and Arundel, was intrigued by the story of the December 1710 wreck of the Nottingham. After running aground a dozen miles offshore, the ship broke up, stranding her crew with minimal tools, scant shelter, and a few pieces of cheese. The men survived nearly a month of screeching gales, sub-freezing temperatures, and driving snowstorms. During their ordeal they resorted to cannibalism and were finally rescued after one of them made it ashore on a crude raft. Included here are contemporary accounts from crew members, offering dramatically different versions of the true-life traumatic event and a fascinating counterpoint to Roberts’ fictionalized version. A bestseller when published in 1956, Boon Island is a story of the ways that crisis can inspire the best--and worst--in human nature.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Survival, Historical, Novels

385 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Kenneth Lewis Roberts, a noted American, wrote his historical novels, including Northwest Passage (1937), about the colonial period.

Roberts worked first as a then popular nationally known journalist with the Saturday Evening Post from 1919 to 1928. Roberts specialized in regionalist historical fiction. He often wrote about terrain of his native state and also depicted other upper states and scenes of New England. He for example depicts, the main characters in Arundel and Rabble in Arms from Kennebunk, then called Arundel; the main character of Northwest Passage from Kittery, Maine, with friends in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the main character in Oliver Wiswell from Milton, Massachusetts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth...

Reviews

[Fred R · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a preteen history buff, I read this and every other Kenneth Roberts novel I could get my hands on. In the early 70s I was stationed at a US Naval Hospital on the southern coast of Maine, and I could see Boon Island from my window. Quite literally. His books are very much worth the look!

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing, true story! Right off the coast of Maine. There is a light house there now!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The #10 bestseller of 1956 is what I call "dick lit." Extreme adventure with not one female character until the last few pages. Essentially it is a ship wreck story and is meant to show the benefits of strong leadership in times of peril and stress.
Kenneth Roberts had two top bestsellers in the 1940s: Oliver Wiswell (1940) and Lydia Bailey (1947). He is an excellent story teller, is clearly on the right politically, and can create fascinating female characters when they fit in the story. Boon Island however, is Lord of the Flies with a happy ending, where the good guys win.

A group of men set out from England in 1710 with a cargo of rope and Irish cheese, bound for Maine. They are harboring a young man who accidentally commited murder back in London. Also on board are a psychopathic first mate and two of his cronies. The first mate is the type of character who brings evil into the midst of men of good will. Captain Dean is your level-headed, patient yet firm sort who would lead a boyscout troop these days.

Within one day's sail of their destination, in the middle of winter, they are driven by a storm onto desolate, rocky Boon Island. Will they survive in freezing temperatures on nothing but mussels and seaweed? Will the evil Langman succeed in taking over from the admirable Captain Dean?

It is an exciting story with plenty of psychological content and many mentions of how hardworking people save the day though they carry the slackers on their backs. Clearly men still read novels in the mid 1950s.

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another absorbing and well written historical novel by Kenneth Roberts, based on the real winter shipwreck of the Nottingham Galley on Boon Island off York Maine in the early 1700’s. An amazing story of survival. So well told I felt cold the whole time I was reading it. Would have been complete if there had been some discussion of the reaction to alleged cannibalism during the stranding after the rescue

[Peg Lotvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

During a trip to the Maine coast we visited the lighthouse at Neddick, ME. From there across the water you could see Boone Island, about 10 miles away. Her lighthouse was not there in 1710 when an English ship, the Nottingham, crashed on the rocky island. The survivors spent nearly a month with no shelter, fire, or food before being rescued New Years Day by mainland fishermen. Kenneth Roberts brings this tale to life in a fictionalized version of the shipwreck and ensuing struggle to stay alive. As people do when faced with the most extreme conditions, they resorted to cannibalism.
I read a very early edition of the book, not the one above. I see now that there is more information available about the wreck and what ensued. Must get a copy of the newer edition.

[Steven Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles Whitworth likes the theater. He meets an aspiring actor, Neal Butler, who catches whitefish on the side when he is not acting. A decadent thug attacks Neal after a performance, trying to take advantage of him sexually and Neal kills him. Miles and others help dispose of the body but Neal and Miles need to get out of town. They get on board the ship Nottingham, enroute from Greenwich, England to Portsmouth, Maine. This sets into motion the fictionalized version of the Nottingham shipwreck in 1710.
In a major storm off the coast of Maine in December, the Nottingham is shipwrecked on the desolate Boon Island. The survivors are faces with staying alive on a rocky island with no vegetation other than seaweed and no meat other than what they can get out of mussels. They face freezing temperatures with frostbite and little shelter other than what they can make from whatever scrap washes ashore from the destroyed ship. Eventually, the 10 survivors get to the point where cannibalism is needed to stay alive.
Once on the island, the story is tense as they deal with surviving each day and also deal with unsavory people who won't pull their own weight.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boon Island is a rock a few miles off the coast of Maine. It is about the size of a Wal Mart parking lot. On December 11, 1710, the ship Nottingham played chicken with the rock and the rock won. While all fourteen men aboard survived and made it ashore, they made it ashore on a rock, the size of a parking lot, in the middle of winter. The hero of this tale is Captain John Dean. He knew the key to survival is to always be thinking, planning, and doing. I'd follow you anywhere, Captain Dean. The villain of the tale is surprisingly not the rock but the useless, lazy, defeated crewmen who wanted to argue about whether it was Sunday or not.

August 15, 2024

[Dave Koehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the actual accounts in the forward documented by the captain and the first mate, I thought I believed the first mate's account a little more than the captain. Although I don't believe Captain Dean purposely grounded his ship on an isolated rocky shoal such as Boon Island, I do believe he wasn't aware of that island's desolation and thought he was closer to the town of York on the Maine coast.

Kenneth Roberts portrayed the first mate as nothing more than a boorish brute who constantly fought with the captain over everything including such trivial matters as what day it was. Seems to me if someone was that combatant he'd never attain the rank of first mate.

Other than that, the fictional story, based on fact, was entertaining and worth a read.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up randomly at a thrift store and did not know the adventure I was in for! If you don’t know ship lingo the wording can be hard to understand at times. It was packed with adventure, action, loss and triumph all at once. A good read but I would have appreciated getting to know the main character Miles a bit more. Even though he was the main character who narrated the story, I felt like there was too much focus into what was happening physically. For such an intense story line I felt a little detached on an emotional level. Still worth the read!

[Aerik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quality here is on par with Roberts' other books, but, as it is much shorter than his usual output, it feels like an appetizer to the main course, so 4 stars instead of 5.

I was shocked at how brutal Northwest Passage was when I only knew it as a film. Moreso when I came to know the book. This is far beyond that. What an awful experience these men had. Though short, this is a grueling survival story/account. You know you're in for it when the captain cuts his boot open to see the effect of the cold and wet on his extremity.

Suitable for all ages and bed times.

[Steve Schinke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally, I was going to give this 1 star, because it is bad, predictable historical fiction. Because it is rooted in an actual event, I gave it two stars. I had read all of Roberts other historical fiction, and it pales in comparison. If I had not looked at the publish date, I would thought it was one of his earlier efforts.

[Meg Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the "contemporary account," the book itself is too much repetition. Only so much can be said about a shipwreck on an island off the New Hampshire coast in the 1700's. If you want to read this, chose an edition without the introducing accounts.

[Duke Lovetere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and very captivating easy to follow I would recommend this book. I live in the area which can see the lighthouse from shore and the account is very relatable and interesting.

[Larry Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Kenneth Roberts. As usual, the coast of Maine and mariners are involved in this tale of shipwreck and survival.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boon Island is based on the true story of the wreck of the Nottingham Galley on the tiny freezing Boon Island off the coast of Maine. Roberts works in his extensive research of how this unfortunate group of seamen survived 21 days without food or fire and does a great job of building his characters - the positive characters and the negative ones. I loved the last passage, "How many of us have our Boon Islands? And how many of us have our Langmans[the scoundrel]? But doesn't each one of us have an inner America on which in youth his heart is set; and if-because of age, or greed, or weakness of will, or circumstances beyond his poor control- it escapes him, his life, to my way of thinking, has been wasted."

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grim hi-fi tale about a shipwreck on a big rock within sight of land. When my parents lived in Kittery we took their sailboat out to look at Boon Island. There's a tall lighthouse on it now and back then(1960/70's) there was still a Coast Guard crew there. To see the place in person was to reinforce the reality those shipwrecked had to deal with. The edition I read was without the "extra" stuff I think. Date read is a guess.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author also did Arundel and Rabble at ARms, stories of Revolutionary war & Battle of Ticonderoga, focusing on the men of upper New England and their resilience and capabilities! The same name keeps coming up, a character named Nason (last name). Have seen Nason graves at Clinton, Maine Cemetary and it always intrigues me to think of the lives of those hardy people at the birth of our nation!

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Near the end of the book there is a gross account of eating a dead human body and repeatedly makes reference to it through several chapters. Other than that it was a great story. Kenneth Roberts always seems to finish the story with the right sentiment of the peace and the freedom of living in America.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Survival stories? Shipwrecks? Cannibalism? I'm SO in. This was a re-read from adolescence, and such a good one: well written, fast paced, memorable characters, and then the total pleasure of sitting on a summer porch reading about being stuck on a storm-lashed, snowy island in December off the coast of New Hampshire.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"All anybody does in college - if he's fortunate - is to learn how to make a start at educating himself; to change his mind if his mind needs changing." That quote is from the early pages, and foreshadows the type of education you wouldn't wish on anyone!

A rollicking good adventure

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early 18th Century merchant ship crashes and maroons the crew on a frigidly cold, wet, and empty island off the American shore. Tale of survival. Nice reading, but the characters really aren't developed all that well.

[Kenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A staple of my childhood, as I grew up within sight of Boon Island, and within a few miles of Roberts' home.

[Jerry Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in high school and couldn't put it down. Roberts was one of America's finest novelists.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb story teller.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book so long ago that I really can't remember it, but it gripped me, I do remember that. I think I shall reread it.

[Phair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't remember if this was a school assignment or if I picked this myself. I do very much recall how grim and bleak the story was. Decidedly NOT a fun read. Diary listing was one star.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grim and powerful, with many overtly and covertly delivered truths about the nature of man.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 1 out of 5]

D-. fiction, historical fiction, 19th c., maritime, from stash, discard