Peter The Whaler

by William Henry Giles Kingston

"Peter's father is a country vicar in Ireland, and Peter is a naughty teenager, who has got in with friends who encourage poaching, at that time a most serious offence. His father confiscates the gun, but one night Peter recovers the gun and has another coaching expedition, during which he is caught by the gamekeepers. The magistrate releases him to his father, who travels with him to Liverpool. For fifteen pounds Captain Swales of the Black Swan agrees to take him and to teach him the rudiments of seamanship on a return voyage to Canada. It turned out she was an ill-managed emigrant ship, and the emigrants were very badly treated. Captain Swales and his officers are as nasty as they come. There is a fire on board, and the people are rescued by the Mary, Captain Dean, who is a very different kind of man than the despicable Captain Swales. At Quebec Peter joins the Foam, Captain Hawk. There then follows a series of events, some good, and some bad, but all well-written.

389 pages

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

Writer of tales for boys, William Henry Giles Kingston was born in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where his father was a merchant.

His first book, The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844. His first book for boys, Peter the Whaler, was published in 1851, and had such success that he retired from business and devoted himself entirely to the production of this kind of literature, in which his popularity was deservedly great; and during 30 years he wrote upwards of 130 tales.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a hardback copy of this book, published about 1928 and given to my father by a friend when they were both leaving primary school. I read it for the first time when I was 11 and continued to read and enjoy it for years afterwards. Looking at it now, with an adult's eyes, I can see how... slow and ponderous it is in places, and how predictable. But it was one of my childhood books, read over and over while I imagined Peter and Andrew and their adventures and I picked it up to read again.
Five stars. I owe it that much.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter the Whaler (not to be confused with the author’s other books, Peter Trawl: The Adventures of a Whaler or The Two Whalers), was published in 1851, the same year as Melville’s great whaling tale. This was William H.G. Kingston’s first book for boys. Apparently, it was so well received that going forward, he devoted himself to writing for this enthusiastic audience. Well over 100 books for boys and young people would follow.

Like many of Kingston’s stories, this one takes place on the high seas, at least in part. It contains all the ingredients of a great boy’s adventure tale: shipwrecks, kidnapping, piracy, whaling, and survival in the untamed Arctic.

But also like his other books, this one is a moral tale. It follows the early life and adventures of a wayward boy, Peter. At the beginning of the story, Peter, a clergyman’s son, has fallen in with another delinquent youth. Eventually, Peter is caught poaching, and in a well-intentioned effort to reform the errant lad, the magistrate consigns him to service on a ship carrying cargo and emigrants to Canada. Now separated from his home and family, young Peter must learn the harsh realities of a sailor’s lot and the difficult lessons that life entails.

Life onboard the ship is far from pleasant for Peter and even worse for the poor emigrants forced to endure deplorable living conditions throughout the voyage. “They were looked upon by the officers as so many sheep or pigs, and treated with no more consideration,” Peter laments. Actually, Kingston often wrote about the plight of emigrants and even led an organization that promoted improving the British immigration system.

Peter’s voyage to North America is not without its tragedy and adventure, which becomes a pattern for the action that follows in the remainder of the story. Indeed, for the balance of the book, life for the young man is one exhilarating escapade after another, each of which calls upon his courage and helps to form his character. In fact, just about all of Peter’s adventures include mishaps and calamity, and it is in these that the author is at his best as a storyteller and moral guide. Allowing Peter to narrate the events lets the reader experience his adventure and observe how each circumstance works to develop character and virtue.

The author obviously wrote in another age for boys who longed to do the daring deeds they supposed decent men did. Kingston embraced his role as a moral mentor for youth in these manly pursuits. He was not alone in that endeavor but was part of a golden age of adventure writers like G.A. Henty, R.M. Ballantyne, and George Manville Fenn. Sadly, the works of these writers have been mostly consigned to boxes and back shelves awaiting rediscovery by a new generation that will enjoy and revere them again.

Peter the Whaler is a fine read and great place to start enjoying William H.G. Kingston’s novels. Notwithstanding copious 19th century nautical details, some archaic vocabulary, and a few insensitive appellations (e.g., references to native American “savages” and a nasty pirate frequently called “the black”), the book is a gem of an adventure tale and well worth the time and investment it will take to become absorbed in it.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good tale for boys a little old fashioned in the wording but a good adventure story.