Desperation: The Queen of Swansea

by Gary Collins

Shipwreck. Starvation. Cannibalism.

For the first time, celebrated author Gary Collins brings to life the tale of the brigantine Queen of Swansea. Bound for Newfoundland in December 1867, the vessel made her first port of call in St. John’s, only to meet her doom on the rocks of Gull Island, Cape John.

The following spring, Captain Mark Rowsell of Leading Tickles chanced upon the fallen ship’s crew on his return voyage from the seal hunt. His discovery of the wreckage, and the fate of the men and women on board, marks a chilling and unforgettable event that has echoed worldwide in the history of seagoing vessels. Here, Gary Collins recreates the final voyage of the Queen of Swansea in a story with a gruesome turn of events that makes it unique in the annals of Atlantic shipwrecks.

Desperation: The Queen of Swansea is Gary Collins’s eleventh book. His book What Colour is the Ocean? won the 2010 Atlantic Book Awards Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration.

202 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2016

About the author

Gary Collins was born in Hare Bay, Bonavista North. He spent forty years in the logging and sawmilling business with his father, Theophilus, and son Clint. Gary was once Newfoundland's youngest fisheries guardian. He managed log drives down spring rivers for years, spent seven seasons driving tractor-trailers over ice roads and the Beaufort Sea of Canada's Western Arctic, and has been involved in the crab, lobster, and cod commercial fisheries. In 2016, he joined the Canadian Rangers.

Gary's writing career began when he was asked to write eulogies for deceased friends and family. Now a critically acclaimed author, he has written twelve books, including the children's illustrated book What Colour is the Ocean?, which he co-wrote with his granddaughter, Maggie Rose Parsons. That book won an Atlantic Book Award: The Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. His book Mattie Mitchell: Newfoundland's Greatest Frontiersman has been adapted for film. His first novel, The Last Beothuk, won the inaugural NL Reads literary competition, administered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Gary Collins is Newfoundland and Labrador's favourite storyteller, and today he is known all over the province as "the Story Man." His favourite pastimes are reading, writing, and playing guitar at his log cabin. He lives in Hare Bay, Newfoundland, with his wife, the former Rose Gill. They have three children and three grandchildren

Reviews

[Jim Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book; I could find no fault with it, no low points, no extraneous material and certainly, no boring passages or ramblings. Mr Collins is clearly at the top of his storytelling game. Also, I was pleased to see the term "Inspired by True Events" on the cover. As Mr Collins mentioned, there was little accurate information to be found about this account, and of course, there were no survivors. Much if not all of the dialogue had to be invented as well as the backstories of the crew and passengers, making this what I call "fictionalised history" (as opposed to historical fiction in which a story occurs at a particular time in history). If you like your history straight up, recounting only the available recorded facts, then Mr Collins' books may not be for you, and in this case, there is not much to relate since the historical evidence is scanty. (It is not even known where all the bodies were buried.) However, I am comfortable with it as long as I know up front that this is the approach the author is going to take. Desperation: the Queen of Swansea is a true-life tragic story, exceptionally told by "the story man" of Newfoundland. Highly recommended for those that enjoy reading about maritime and nautical history.

[Harold Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gary Collins never fails to spin a fine yarn...often based on historical truth. It is not only the tale of a shipwreck, starvation and...well, perhaps, cannibalism, but also a fundamental yarn about the indifferent energy of the universe.