The Wreck of the "Grosvenor"

by William Clark Russell, Walter Russell (Illustrator)

W. Clark Russell was born in New York in 1844 to English parents. His experiences in the British Merchant Marine provided an authentic backdrop for his acclaimed sea novels. Russell is highly regarded for his realistic portrayal of maritime life, and his harrowing account of the sailors' plight in The Wreck of the Grosvenor was very influential in the passage of reform laws to improve the lot of British merchant seamen.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Adventure, Literary Fiction, Nautical

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1877

About the author

William Clark Russell was a popular American writer of nautical novels and horror stories.

Russell gained his experience of sea life during eight years' service as a sailor. Then he was a journalist on the staff of the Daily Chronicle before he took to writing his many novels, only a few of which are listed here.

As a testament to the popularity of Russell's novels in his day, one can read about him at the beginning of the Sherlock Holmes story "The Five Orange Pips," where Doctor Watson is shown 'deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea stories'.

According to modern scholar John Sutherland, The Wreck of the Grosvenor (1877) was "the most popular mid-Victorian melodrama of adventure and heroism at sea."[1] It remained popular and widely read in illustrated editions well into the first half of the 20th century.[2] It was Russell best selling and most well known novel.[2] Russell noted in a preface, the novel 'found its first and best welcome in the United States.'[1]

William Clark Russell was the son of composer Henry Russell, the brother of impresario Henry Russell, and the half brother of conductor Landon Ronald. His horror work has similarities to the nautical horror stories of William Hope Hodgson.

Reviews

[John Isles · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the fireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while I at the other was deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea-stories until the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text, and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of the sea waves." Thus writes Dr. Watson (according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) in "The Five Orange Pips", fifth of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Given this recommendation, I decided to give William Clark Russell a try and began reading his "The Wreck of the Grosvenor." It's an adventure story set on a merchant sailing ship with a cruel captain and a mutinous crew which sets out across the Atlantic in a storm of the kind just mentioned. I found off-putting all the nautical jargon, much of it meaningless to modern readers not familiar with tall ships, and intruding sometimes into other contexts: "He had blue eyes, with a cast in the port optic; this somehow made him humorous...." After completing the first volume I had to stop. Writing this review reminds me how much better an author is Conan Doyle.

[Mark Barbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adventure

The author did a fabulous job pulling me into the story. I love a great adventure. Wished it didn't end

[Steve Gadd]

“As evening drew in, the storm grew higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the fireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while I at the other was deep in one of Clark Russell’s fine sea-stories until the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text, and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to her mother’s, and for a few days I was a dweller once more in my old quarters at Baker Street.”

[Laurie Bluedorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harv read this book to me and the kids many years ago. I consider it one of my top ten favorites.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, old-fashioned sea story. Not amazing but good.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 'Wreck of the Grosvenor' is terrific nautical fiction that's even better than Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey novels! It's an exciting, suspenseful page-turner that was immensely popular when it was written in 1877 but is rarely mentioned today though it is a classic that could be characterized like a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure novel for adults. In William Clark Russell's novel, the Grosvenor is a doomed merchant sailing ship. Trouble starts at the very outset of its voyage from England to Valparaiso. With a nasty Captain and equally nasty First Mate, the initial crew rebels before even leaving port due to the rancid pork, moldy biscuit and other rotten provisions. With a replacement crew unaware of the bad vittles, the voyage begins with several bad omens and eventually a mutiny by the crew and the deaths of the Captain and First Mate. And that's just Part 1! The Second Mate, the narrator of the story, is then required to do the bidding of the mutineers as they scheme their next evil. How he manages to maintain the safety of himself and the two passengers he rescued from a wreck in Part 1 is the suspenseful subject of Part 2. How he then manages the ship in a great storm extremely short-handed is the exciting tale of Part 3, culminating in the loss of the ship. Like Aubrey and Hornblower, he also even finds true love. Plenty more happens in the book, but I don't want to give away too much of the exciting plot.

The Wreck of the Grosvenor is a great nautical story but it is pure fiction. Despite using the name of a real ship and its real Captain, the book does NOT tell the tale of the real Grosvenor which was shipwrecked in 1782 off the coast of South Africa. No idea why the author chose such a deceptive title – if anyone knows, please comment below.

I actually read the Duke Classics of the book available on READS/Libby but strangely it is not on goodreads.

[Alan McCord · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. Written in 1877, it is highly realistic and must be representative of the time as it is not speculative. The values are certainly imperial English and the sentiments clearly Victorian, and the dialog is sometimes overwrought and awkward from the a modern reader's perspective. But the story is compelling and the descriptions of sea life were fascinating. And yes, I learned of it from the Conan Doyle story, but an glad I checked it out!

[Kevin Jakubec · Rating 4 out of 5]

extremely well written with deep character development and detailed action

[Christopher Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting.

[Robert O'Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great 19th Century British sea novel. A gripping story and extremely well-written.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and silly escapism! The story is fairly engaging and the nautical jargon delightful.

Although the narrator is clearly an officer and a gentleman, with many disparaging things to say about the education, dress, speech, conduct etc. of the sailors, he nevertheless on several occasions expresses sympathy over their consistent neglect and ill treatment. Indeed, Russell was a passionate campaigner who devoted great efforts to improving the conditions of merchant seamen. (He also deplored the horrific abuse of Tasmanian natives by British colonialists, and sounds like a thoroughly decent chap.)

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 'Wreck of the Grosvenor' is terrific nautical fiction that's even better than Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey novels! It's an exciting, suspenseful page-turner that was immensely popular when it was written in 1877 but is rarely mentioned today though it is a classic that could be characterized like a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure novel for adults. In William Clark Russell's novel, the Grosvenor is a doomed merchant sailing ship. Trouble starts at the very outset of its voyage from England to Valparaiso. With a nasty Captain and equally nasty First Mate, the initial crew rebels before even leaving port due to the rancid pork, moldy biscuit and other rotten provisions. With a replacement crew unaware of the bad vittles, the voyage begins with several bad omens and eventually a mutiny by the crew and the deaths of the Captain and First Mate. And that's just Part 1! The Second Mate, the narrator of the story, is then required to do the bidding of the mutineers as they scheme their next evil. How he manages to maintain the safety of himself and the two passengers he rescued from a wreck in Part 1 is the suspenseful subject of Part 2. How he then manages the ship in a great storm extremely short-handed is the exciting tale of Part 3, culminating in the loss of the ship. Like Aubrey and Hornblower, he also even finds true love. Plenty more happens in the book, but I don't want to give away too much of the exciting plot.

The Wreck of the Grosvenor is a great nautical story but it is pure fiction. Despite using the name of a real ship and its real Captain, the book does NOT tell the tale of the real Grosvenor which was shipwrecked in 1782 off the coast of South Africa. No idea why the author chose such a deceptive title – if anyone knows, please comment below.

[Mk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read. Nothing deep in this story or naval yarn just a classic of nautical fiction for pure enjoyment. The end gets somewhat pasty but that's OK. Simply a good sea yarn. Thank you Doc. Watson.