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Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder – The International Bestselling Real-Life Swiss Family Robinson Survival
On December 10, 1887, a shark fishing boat disappeared. On board the doomed vessel were the Walkers—the ship’s captain Frederick, his wife Elizabeth, their three teenage sons, and their dog—along with the ship’s crew. The family had spotted a promising fishing location when a terrible storm arose, splitting their vessel in two and leaving those onboard adrift on the perilous sea.
When the castaways awoke the next morning, they discovered they had been washed ashore—on an island inhabited by a large but ragged and emaciated man who introduced himself as Hans. Hans appeared to have been there for a while and could quickly educate the Walkers and their crew on the island’s resources. But Hans had a secret . . . and as the Walker family gradually came to learn more, what seemed like a stroke of luck to have the mysterious man’s assistance became something ominous, something darker.
Like David Grann and Stacy Schiff, Matthew Pearl unveils one of the most incredible yet little-known historical true stories, and the only known instance in history of an actual family of castaways. Save Our Souls asks us to consider who we might become if we found ourselves trapped on a deserted island.
When the castaways awoke the next morning, they discovered they had been washed ashore—on an island inhabited by a large but ragged and emaciated man who introduced himself as Hans. Hans appeared to have been there for a while and could quickly educate the Walkers and their crew on the island’s resources. But Hans had a secret . . . and as the Walker family gradually came to learn more, what seemed like a stroke of luck to have the mysterious man’s assistance became something ominous, something darker.
Like David Grann and Stacy Schiff, Matthew Pearl unveils one of the most incredible yet little-known historical true stories, and the only known instance in history of an actual family of castaways. Save Our Souls asks us to consider who we might become if we found ourselves trapped on a deserted island.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2025
315 people are currently reading
2986 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Pearl
37 books1,403 followersNote from the author:Hi everyone. My newest novel is The Dante Chamber, out May 29, 2018. It's a follow-up to my debut novel, The Dante Club, but you do not have to read one before the other, each stands on its own two feet. Hope you'll enjoy any of books you choose to pick up.
Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor
Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
January 14, 2025
SAVE OUR SOULS by Matthew Pearl caught my eye because of its title. A true Swiss Family Robinson story that involves murder sounded like the perfect break from all the fantasy novels I have been reading. However, what sounded like an intriguing story is, in actuality, a regurgitation of research and not one done very well.
SAVE OUR SOULS suffers from a serious case of too much information. There is no doubt that Mr. Pearl researched the topic, as he includes at least one footnote with its corresponding citation on almost every page. But therein lies the problem. Mr. Pearl finds a way to incorporate all his research into a short book. His notes are nearly as many pages as the story itself. There is too much information in such a short space that it is akin to drinking water from a wide-open fire hose. You can't process it all.
To make matters worse, Mr. Pearl opts to tell the story chronologically. While this doesn't seem like a bad organizational methodology to use for a historical narrative, it is to the reader's disadvantage here. Mr. Pearl spends large swaths of SAVE OUR SOULS going off on tangents every time he introduces a new person into the drama. The same holds for every new location mentioned or occupation. For every advancement of the castaway story, you must walk down at least one, if not more, other paths before Mr. Pearl finally gets back to the main narrative. If you take out all of the tangential information, the crux of the Walkers' shipwreck takes up very little room, and this is not a long novel to begin with.
While there is an interesting story there in SAVE OUR SOULS, it is not worth the effort required to dig that story out of everything else. There is no doubt Mr. Pearl is enthusiastic about this little moment in history, but his enthusiasm is overwhelming. His tangential explanations cause the main narrative to be disjointed. Plus, he doesn't always tie those tangents back into that main narrative, which serves to increase any confusion you may already have. You could get everything you need to know about the Walkers' tale from a simple Wikipedia entry because, in the end, that is all it needs to be. SAVE OUR SOULS is nothing more than a spewing of facts and numerous tangential history lessons for a moment in time that had no lasting impact on the world at large.
SAVE OUR SOULS suffers from a serious case of too much information. There is no doubt that Mr. Pearl researched the topic, as he includes at least one footnote with its corresponding citation on almost every page. But therein lies the problem. Mr. Pearl finds a way to incorporate all his research into a short book. His notes are nearly as many pages as the story itself. There is too much information in such a short space that it is akin to drinking water from a wide-open fire hose. You can't process it all.
To make matters worse, Mr. Pearl opts to tell the story chronologically. While this doesn't seem like a bad organizational methodology to use for a historical narrative, it is to the reader's disadvantage here. Mr. Pearl spends large swaths of SAVE OUR SOULS going off on tangents every time he introduces a new person into the drama. The same holds for every new location mentioned or occupation. For every advancement of the castaway story, you must walk down at least one, if not more, other paths before Mr. Pearl finally gets back to the main narrative. If you take out all of the tangential information, the crux of the Walkers' shipwreck takes up very little room, and this is not a long novel to begin with.
While there is an interesting story there in SAVE OUR SOULS, it is not worth the effort required to dig that story out of everything else. There is no doubt Mr. Pearl is enthusiastic about this little moment in history, but his enthusiasm is overwhelming. His tangential explanations cause the main narrative to be disjointed. Plus, he doesn't always tie those tangents back into that main narrative, which serves to increase any confusion you may already have. You could get everything you need to know about the Walkers' tale from a simple Wikipedia entry because, in the end, that is all it needs to be. SAVE OUR SOULS is nothing more than a spewing of facts and numerous tangential history lessons for a moment in time that had no lasting impact on the world at large.
December 21, 2024
I have read a lot of shipwreck books. There is a romance to the open sea, disaster, and the fight for survival under the worst of circumstances. I have also long decided to never take a cruise because I know too much. Matthew Pearl and his newest book, Save Our Souls, now makes me wonder whether I can even trust the captain and his mates on land.
Pearl tells the story of the Wandering Minstrel (which is a dumb ship name) and its wreck on Midway Island in the late 1880s. Besides the crew, the entire Walker family is aboard as the captain has brought along his wife and three sons. Midway is a desolate place at this time with no significant resources. There is one hell of a surprise, but I will leave you to discover that one.
I would point out that this story is not exactly like others of the shipwreck/swashbuckling genre like David Grann's The Wager or Hampton Sides' The Wide Wide Sea. Pearl is much more interested in the numerous close calls, tangled personal relationships, and backstabbing intrigue. There is still plenty of excitement and struggle for survival, but the focus is just shifted to a greater historical look at the time and place of the wreck. Obviously, for a history nerd like me, it was catnip.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)
Pearl tells the story of the Wandering Minstrel (which is a dumb ship name) and its wreck on Midway Island in the late 1880s. Besides the crew, the entire Walker family is aboard as the captain has brought along his wife and three sons. Midway is a desolate place at this time with no significant resources. There is one hell of a surprise, but I will leave you to discover that one.
I would point out that this story is not exactly like others of the shipwreck/swashbuckling genre like David Grann's The Wager or Hampton Sides' The Wide Wide Sea. Pearl is much more interested in the numerous close calls, tangled personal relationships, and backstabbing intrigue. There is still plenty of excitement and struggle for survival, but the focus is just shifted to a greater historical look at the time and place of the wreck. Obviously, for a history nerd like me, it was catnip.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)
January 28, 2025
3 Stars
October 16, 2024
4.5
The shipwreck girlies are gonna have a grand old time reading this nightmare fuel
The shipwreck girlies are gonna have a grand old time reading this nightmare fuel
March 9, 2025
This was a short book at only 203 pages and really should have been a lot shorter. I would say that more than half the book got lost in the (sea) weeds by wandering a lot off topic. The side bars were interesting, but not needed to push the main story along, so often felt laboured. I also didn't like how the author would describe events that were not recorded at the time by quoting other "women who sailed". It was the need to quote women that got to me. Obviously if there were other sources to quote it was not especially unusual for women to go to sea with their families.
Essentially I found out what I needed to know when the author confirmed that the family's dog, Jesse, who survived the ship sinking and helped the family survive by finding buried bird nests, was also rescued and made it safely back to Hawaii. It's always a happy ending when the dog winds up in a good place.
Essentially I found out what I needed to know when the author confirmed that the family's dog, Jesse, who survived the ship sinking and helped the family survive by finding buried bird nests, was also rescued and made it safely back to Hawaii. It's always a happy ending when the dog winds up in a good place.
January 16, 2025
The author takes a kernel of an idea: the Walkers are ship-wrecked on Midway Island—will a man already marooned there save them? From this mini-plot, we are sailed away on various historical anecdotes of “black birding” while commanding a ship, insurance fraud by captains of ships, some stuff about Hawaii, etc., etc., etc….zzzzz….occasionally we return to the cast-aways on the sand spit. For someone like me who has immersed herself in both true crime and extreme survival stories, this was a real yawn.
For Audible listeners: The narrator was perfect for this type of story, and thank god, or I might have abandoned ship sooner.
For Audible listeners: The narrator was perfect for this type of story, and thank god, or I might have abandoned ship sooner.
June 26, 2025
A much more thorough narrative than I was expecting given its slim volume. Not only has Pearl uncovered an interesting survival story, but he also finds a way to illuminate sailing life in the Pacific in the 19th century. Hans and James are some harrowing individuals and we get to meet a lot of sailors and captains who blur the line between smuggler, pirate, and businessman. Really good stuff. High three/low four-star territory. I'll go with the four.
August 12, 2024
In the tradition of Erik Larson and David Grann, Save Our Souls is the riveting, true account of an unlucky family shipwrecked on a remote island with a known murderer; and it might just be the book to get you into reading non-fiction.
Fact is often stranger than fiction and books like this illustrate that point. Although it sounds like the plot of Swiss Family Robinson, or maybe a drama mini-series, in 1887 a shark fishing vessel wrecked off the coast of Midway Atoll stranding its remaining crew there. Among those stranded were the Walker family, a captain husband, his wife, three sons, and their loyal canine, Jessie. Far from the lush, verdant islands scattered across most shipwreck fiction, Midway is mostly sand and birds, making survival a constant challenge. But in addition to surviving the elements, the Walkers and their crew have to contend with a mysterious castaway already present on the island, a man whose experience and history may be the difference between life and death.
I knew absolutely nothing about this event prior to reading this. My initial reaction was one of elation and gratitude that someone had gone through the trouble to write a whole book about the topic. This read was exactly what I was looking for, well-paced and researched, with more than enough information to appease my curiosity. The author does a splendid job of building suspense, so much so that one afternoon I read for hours in one sitting because I absolutely had to get some answers. On the whole this was an immediately engaging, well written book laden with a profusion of detail and told with astute deftness.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes exciting, absorbing non-fiction, or even readers who usually only read thrillers and adventure titles, there is more than enough of both here to satisfy anyone.
Fact is often stranger than fiction and books like this illustrate that point. Although it sounds like the plot of Swiss Family Robinson, or maybe a drama mini-series, in 1887 a shark fishing vessel wrecked off the coast of Midway Atoll stranding its remaining crew there. Among those stranded were the Walker family, a captain husband, his wife, three sons, and their loyal canine, Jessie. Far from the lush, verdant islands scattered across most shipwreck fiction, Midway is mostly sand and birds, making survival a constant challenge. But in addition to surviving the elements, the Walkers and their crew have to contend with a mysterious castaway already present on the island, a man whose experience and history may be the difference between life and death.
I knew absolutely nothing about this event prior to reading this. My initial reaction was one of elation and gratitude that someone had gone through the trouble to write a whole book about the topic. This read was exactly what I was looking for, well-paced and researched, with more than enough information to appease my curiosity. The author does a splendid job of building suspense, so much so that one afternoon I read for hours in one sitting because I absolutely had to get some answers. On the whole this was an immediately engaging, well written book laden with a profusion of detail and told with astute deftness.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes exciting, absorbing non-fiction, or even readers who usually only read thrillers and adventure titles, there is more than enough of both here to satisfy anyone.
March 2, 2025
This lacked much about the castaways themselves. I’d recommend Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler for a more intriguing read along these lines.
February 26, 2025
I usually love survival nonfiction, shipwreck stories, and narrative nonfiction in general, but this was a miss. I just don’t think there’s enough of a story here to produce a full-fledged book - perhaps a long-form Rolling Stone article, but not 200 pages of content.
Pearl fills the pages with far too much backstory and irrelevant, frankly uninteresting history of random figures, Midway Atoll, and a strangely colonial perspective on Hawaii. I also would have preferred if he had framed the story using a protagonist whose perspective we’re following rather than third-party omniscient, detached narration.
I think this is an unsuccessful copycat of The Wager, trying to tell a story of murder, deceit, betrayal, and survival with a base historical situation that simply doesn’t have enough content to make for a compelling plot.
Pearl fills the pages with far too much backstory and irrelevant, frankly uninteresting history of random figures, Midway Atoll, and a strangely colonial perspective on Hawaii. I also would have preferred if he had framed the story using a protagonist whose perspective we’re following rather than third-party omniscient, detached narration.
I think this is an unsuccessful copycat of The Wager, trying to tell a story of murder, deceit, betrayal, and survival with a base historical situation that simply doesn’t have enough content to make for a compelling plot.
September 29, 2025
Short, riveting. Engaging true story that is truly filled with dastardly treachery. Some people in this story deserve the wooooorst.
I could tell there wasn’t quite enough material to fill an entire book with this story, so the author went on a lot of tangents. But the tangents were interesting for the most part - and largely related and short - so I forgive him.
I could tell there wasn’t quite enough material to fill an entire book with this story, so the author went on a lot of tangents. But the tangents were interesting for the most part - and largely related and short - so I forgive him.
March 22, 2025
This has the bones of an exciting story, but the story teller didn't make anything of it. This wants to be narrative non-fiction but it's just a recitation of events.
February 9, 2025
3.5. This was interesting and the audio narrator was great, but it went on too many tangents. It was hard to keep up with all the side characters and stories that weren’t on the boat. I think just sticking to the original story and expanding on the survival nature and time on the island would have been better.
May 3, 2025
Fascinating story well told. However the book is let down by a complete absence of maps, documents, newspaper extracts and photographs.
March 17, 2025
The story was interesting but I didn't like how the narrative kept jumping around to barely relevant information about completely different people and places. At first I could see the relevancy but, it felt disjointed after a while. Still a very interesting story though! A life-threatening betrayal in the one of most desolate of places.
May 28, 2025
this was very interesting, I wasn't expecting to learn a lot of the information in this book
February 6, 2025
I thought I was really going to like this book. No! It was a good story and it was interesting enough to keep me engaged but I just don’t think I liked the style of writing.
February 24, 2025
A couple of years ago I read The Wager by David Grann. It was my first "shipwreck" book, and I wouldn't have considered it, but I saw a review by Elyse Walters that convinced me to read it. Since then I've read five or six shipwreck books including Save Our Souls. This one hits different. On board the ship is a family with their dog, and they are stranded on Midway Island. It takes place in the late 1880s when Midway is a desolate, inhospitable place. This story, researched thoroughly by Matthew Pearl, seems unbelievable. It's fascinating despite Pearl's tendency to wander disjointedly at times.
January 25, 2025
Matthew Pearl earned his reputation as a great writer with a series of well-researched Historical Thrillers that rivaled the work of similar authors such as Dan Brown. His current book, SAVE OUR SOULS, is his second exploration into Non-Fiction History with what would be called a True Crime story today.
In 1887, a ship containing the entire Walker family --- Frederick, Elizabeth, and their three teenage sons, along with the family dog --- attempts to enjoy a shark-hunting voyage in the area around the Hawaiian Islands. Their ship, The Wandering Minstrel, sets sail with the Walker’s and a small crew on February 3, 1888. Some of them will never be seen again and the horrors they must face make for an incredibly suspenseful and entertaining read.
The name of the ship made me think of both Shakespeare and Gilbert & Sullivan; however, we learn that Frederick Walker took the name from a one-act Victorian play from writer Henry Mayhew, who was a friend of Charles Dickens. We also find out that the Walker’s need to have some success with this shark-hunting adventure as some bad business deals while in Hong Kong have left them nearly destitute.
A major storm changes the seas to a whirling dervish of destruction that strikes The Wandering Minstrel and cleaves it in two. The family and most of the crew are able to get off the sinking ship and land on the nearest island. The castaways are actually on Sand Island, a small island with minimal vegetation and food sources. They also try in vain each day to watch the sea and its’ horizon in hopes of flagging down any passing ship. Things become divisive between the survivors, especially with the crewman named Cameron who does not wish to band together but goes his own way with a small group of like-minded mates.
Things become really interesting when a small hut is found on the island, and all hope it can be a source of shelter for the sick and younger members of the castaways. They are quite surprised to find that a stranger already occupies the hut, a man named Hans Jorgensen of Denmark who claims to be the only survivor of his shipwreck. Hans appears on the surface to be helpful and kind, but it is not long before his dark side comes out and we find he may be a murderer.
Parts of a small boat are washed up amongst other items on Sand Island and the group attempts to make a new ship from this one and other materials. One day, the Walker’s notice that their ships chef, Frank Lord, absconded with the new boat they had made with a handful of other crewman. They would not be seen or heard from again. Many perils are faced by the castaways on what turns out to be a ten-month stay on Sand Island. We are regaled with stories of other ill-fated ships that sailed in the same area in addition to a deeper look into the criminal named Hans.
Hans and Cameron end up teaming together and steal valuable supplies to help them escape the island in their own secretly made boat. They are successful in getting away and are discovered by friendly natives on a nearby island. Scouts from that island get word out about the men and they are rescued. Cameron, for some bizarre reason, tells his rescuers that the Walkers were all dead and does nothing to send help to them.
The Walkers’ story is a great one and lends itself to comparisons in classic literature in novels like The Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe. The tale of these castaways also inspires author Robert Louis Stevenson to pen his own tale of survival on the high seas. The ordeal in this book is told like a piece of thriller fiction with elements of psychological horror thrown in. Pearl’s able hand is very much on display as he is one of the finest historical researchers working today and his mastery of historical fiction drives this tale through like a suspense novel.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
In 1887, a ship containing the entire Walker family --- Frederick, Elizabeth, and their three teenage sons, along with the family dog --- attempts to enjoy a shark-hunting voyage in the area around the Hawaiian Islands. Their ship, The Wandering Minstrel, sets sail with the Walker’s and a small crew on February 3, 1888. Some of them will never be seen again and the horrors they must face make for an incredibly suspenseful and entertaining read.
The name of the ship made me think of both Shakespeare and Gilbert & Sullivan; however, we learn that Frederick Walker took the name from a one-act Victorian play from writer Henry Mayhew, who was a friend of Charles Dickens. We also find out that the Walker’s need to have some success with this shark-hunting adventure as some bad business deals while in Hong Kong have left them nearly destitute.
A major storm changes the seas to a whirling dervish of destruction that strikes The Wandering Minstrel and cleaves it in two. The family and most of the crew are able to get off the sinking ship and land on the nearest island. The castaways are actually on Sand Island, a small island with minimal vegetation and food sources. They also try in vain each day to watch the sea and its’ horizon in hopes of flagging down any passing ship. Things become divisive between the survivors, especially with the crewman named Cameron who does not wish to band together but goes his own way with a small group of like-minded mates.
Things become really interesting when a small hut is found on the island, and all hope it can be a source of shelter for the sick and younger members of the castaways. They are quite surprised to find that a stranger already occupies the hut, a man named Hans Jorgensen of Denmark who claims to be the only survivor of his shipwreck. Hans appears on the surface to be helpful and kind, but it is not long before his dark side comes out and we find he may be a murderer.
Parts of a small boat are washed up amongst other items on Sand Island and the group attempts to make a new ship from this one and other materials. One day, the Walker’s notice that their ships chef, Frank Lord, absconded with the new boat they had made with a handful of other crewman. They would not be seen or heard from again. Many perils are faced by the castaways on what turns out to be a ten-month stay on Sand Island. We are regaled with stories of other ill-fated ships that sailed in the same area in addition to a deeper look into the criminal named Hans.
Hans and Cameron end up teaming together and steal valuable supplies to help them escape the island in their own secretly made boat. They are successful in getting away and are discovered by friendly natives on a nearby island. Scouts from that island get word out about the men and they are rescued. Cameron, for some bizarre reason, tells his rescuers that the Walkers were all dead and does nothing to send help to them.
The Walkers’ story is a great one and lends itself to comparisons in classic literature in novels like The Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe. The tale of these castaways also inspires author Robert Louis Stevenson to pen his own tale of survival on the high seas. The ordeal in this book is told like a piece of thriller fiction with elements of psychological horror thrown in. Pearl’s able hand is very much on display as he is one of the finest historical researchers working today and his mastery of historical fiction drives this tale through like a suspense novel.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
February 6, 2025
The Walkers - Frederick & Elizabeth, and their three teenage boys - set sail from Hong Kong on a shark-fishing expedition. At a stop in Hawaii, Frederick puts off a couple of mutineers and picks up a new first mate. Soon, however, their ship hits coral by Midway, and the Walkers and their crew are stranded on the Midway islands.
Oddly, they find another stranded soul who was already been marooned there, Hans. But as they wait for an uncertain rescue and struggle to survive, it turns out both Hans and their first mate have dark secrets in their pasts. The Walker family and the rest of their crew will be facing even more dangers than they know...
An intriguing story of a real-life Swiss Family Robinson. The ingredients are definitely here for a good story. The execution was a bit lacking for me, though; it was a bit of a hodgepodge, with all sorts of random trivia being built onto the skeleton of the story, often without real reason. It definitely read like a book where the author did a lot of research and was determined that all of it would end up in the text, whether or not it fit.
Oddly, they find another stranded soul who was already been marooned there, Hans. But as they wait for an uncertain rescue and struggle to survive, it turns out both Hans and their first mate have dark secrets in their pasts. The Walker family and the rest of their crew will be facing even more dangers than they know...
An intriguing story of a real-life Swiss Family Robinson. The ingredients are definitely here for a good story. The execution was a bit lacking for me, though; it was a bit of a hodgepodge, with all sorts of random trivia being built onto the skeleton of the story, often without real reason. It definitely read like a book where the author did a lot of research and was determined that all of it would end up in the text, whether or not it fit.
September 22, 2025
The story is interesting and you can tell that the author did a lot of research, but he jumped around from story to story to story that it was difficult to follow who we were talking about. There were lots of names that came and went, which made it difficult to know if they were important details to remember or not. It was fun to learn of the Midway Atoll and how it was before WW2 (as this is all I knew about it before this book.) It just felt like the author was trying to stretch out a 15 minute story into a full book. (SPOTIFY)
April 9, 2025
An enjoyable read about a historic shipwreck at Midway. Many chapters tend to be very dry---lots of talk about politics, insurance, and ships that maybe COULD have rescued the castaways but didn't actually come close---and I found it difficult to keep up with the names of people only tangentially involved in the primary story.
May 5, 2025
I love a good adventure book, however this book reads more like a textbook. While exhaustively researched, it was too heavy on facts, names, dates, and more ships than you'll ever need to know about. somehow the story of the castaways just didn't get the attention it deserved and the attention they did get was lost in the overwhelming data dump.
there are far more readable books if your looking for adventure.
there are far more readable books if your looking for adventure.
April 22, 2025
While it is a very interesting incident, what could be a fascinating account is rendered dry and lifeless. Would be better as a "non-fictional" novel.
March 6, 2025
Interesting story poorly told. I expected better from this author.
April 27, 2025
Elizabeth is one tough lady!
December 15, 2025
I thought this story would be a lot more interesting and it really dragged and felt pedantic. Wanted to enjoy it more but just couldn’t really vibe with it
March 19, 2025
Interesting story though it didn't quite leap off the page like some of the books it was compared to in blurbs—Born to Be Hanged and The Wager. Because no one was really keeping journals during this whole ordeal, there were few contemporary firsthand accounts and a lot of time Pearl made comparisons using unnamed contemporary journal or diary entries.
June 2, 2025
Compelling story, a stretch to write a whole 200 pages about it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews