The Return of Lono: A Novel of Captain Cook's Last Voyage

by Elizabeth K. Bushnell, O.A. Bushnell

This story is a fictional reconstruction of the momentous visit to the island of Hawaii in 1779 by Captain James Cook and his company aboard H.M.S. Resolution and Discovery. The natives believed this first white visitor to be Lono, their long-awaited god of agriculture and the harvest. Realizing the benefits of being thought a god, Cook did nothing to dispel the misconception. Although most of his crew thoroughly enjoyed the pleasures offered by the island paradise, some men, including Ship's Master William Bligh (later captain of H.M.S. Bounty) and the American colonist John Ledyard, feared and resented the false position taken by their practical captain. In the quiet rebellion that followed, Captain Cook, a scientist and a man of reason, would not be persuaded by the convictions of his religious antagonist, who believed the mission doomed to failure because of his blasphemous acts. The accuracy of their predictions is left for the reader to decide.

The story is told by Jonathan Forrest, a midshipman on Cook's flagship, the Resolution. Through his eyes are shown many scenes of shipboard and island life, the thoughts and actions of the ill-fated captain, and the events leading ultimately to the tragedy which affected the first Europeans to visit the Hawaiian Islands.

Genres: Historical Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1971

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hawaii has had the misfortune of not being able to speak for itself in its own literature. It was always mainlanders like James Michener, Somerset Maugham, and Mark Twain whose writings introduced the islands to their fellows. There is one exception: O.A. Bushnell, a Hawaii-born microbiologist who also happened to be an excellent -- if little read -- author.

I had wanted to read Bushnell's work ever since I went to Hawaii some twenty years ago. Finally, I just finished reading The Return of Lono: A Novel of Captain Cook's Last Voyage, which tells of the misunderstandings between Captain Cook and his crew, and between Cook and the Hawaiians of Kaleakekua on the big island.

Bushnell shows Cook being brought down by an Evangelical cabal -- approaching a status of a mutiny -- that affected his judgment at the same time that his native allies were facing opposition by a vocal and aggressive religious sect that opposed the Englishmen. Curiously, the leader of the cabal was, as portrayed by Bushnell, none other than William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty infamy.

I liked The Return of Lono, which was Bushnell's first novel (published in the 1950s), enough to consider dipping into his later novels, especially Ka'a'awa and Molokai. He is a writer primarily of historical fiction, and I expect that his later works will not belie his early promise with Lono.

[Laura L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by O.A. Bushnell. Every paragraph reads like poetry. I loved how the tension built up over time. I felt like I was present for it all. Although historical fiction, the account of the final incident against Captain Cook and his men seems true to other versions I have read about.

[Josh Hilden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me want to read The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides to compare fact and fiction.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very captivating historical fictionalized account of Captain Cook's fatal final visit to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).