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The Bounty Trilogy #1
Mutiny On The Bounty
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the thrilling account of the strange, eventful, and tragic voyage of His Majesty's Ship Bounty in 1788-1789, which culminated in Fletcher Christian's mutiny against Captain Bligh.
379 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1932
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About the author
Charles Bernard Nordhoff
79 books53 followers This describes the 20th century novelist, most famous for Mutiny on the Bounty. For the 19th century journalist and author, see Charles Nordhoff.
Charles Bernard Nordhoff was an English-born American novelist and traveler.
Charles Bernard Nordhoff was an English-born American novelist and traveler.
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December 18, 2025
Well…to make a confession, I thought this was a pirate book and expected some light-hearted “Argh!” and “Mateys!”
But I guess not all books with ships on the cover are about pirates or so I found out. LOL!
Mutiny on the Bounty, the book itself, is not good. The paragraphs are too long, the action is slow, and the dialogue isn’t natural. No one would go around having a monologue at every turn.
There is also little character development.
On the other hand, the experience of reading this book is phenomenal. While Mutiny on the Bounty is fiction (there was no sailor named Roger Byam), this book is based on real historical events.
So I enjoyed looking up all of the various locations and watching countless YouTube videos on The Bounty and Captain Bligh. Iannoyed enlightened many people with all of my useless trivia (Did you know that….?).
In all seriousness, it is an excellent book to share with a bookish friend (if you have one) and text back and forth all of the new things you learn about The Bounty, Bligh, and Tahiti.
One warning: The audiobook cut off the last 20 pages. IMO, the ending in the book is stronger, the one not cut off. So beware of the audiobook with the narrator Charles Griffin or you might find yourself wishing you had walked the plank!
The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Hardcover Text – $25.22 from eBay
Audiobook – Audible – 1 credit (Audible Premium Plus Annual – 24 Credits Membership Plan $229.50 or roughly $9.56 per credit)
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But I guess not all books with ships on the cover are about pirates or so I found out. LOL!
Mutiny on the Bounty, the book itself, is not good. The paragraphs are too long, the action is slow, and the dialogue isn’t natural. No one would go around having a monologue at every turn.
There is also little character development.
On the other hand, the experience of reading this book is phenomenal. While Mutiny on the Bounty is fiction (there was no sailor named Roger Byam), this book is based on real historical events.
So I enjoyed looking up all of the various locations and watching countless YouTube videos on The Bounty and Captain Bligh. I
In all seriousness, it is an excellent book to share with a bookish friend (if you have one) and text back and forth all of the new things you learn about The Bounty, Bligh, and Tahiti.
One warning: The audiobook cut off the last 20 pages. IMO, the ending in the book is stronger, the one not cut off. So beware of the audiobook with the narrator Charles Griffin or you might find yourself wishing you had walked the plank!
The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Hardcover Text – $25.22 from eBay
Audiobook – Audible – 1 credit (Audible Premium Plus Annual – 24 Credits Membership Plan $229.50 or roughly $9.56 per credit)
Connect With Me!
Blog Threads BookTube Facebook Insta My Bookstore at Pango
February 6, 2021
Mutiny on the Bounty is THE classic tale of mutiny on the high seas. I believe that anytime the word "mutiny" is spoken or read, the Bounty is the ship that flashes through the mind. Given this widespread notoriety, I was disappointed with its actual content.
I thought that Nordhoff overdramatized both sides of the mutiny. The crew were turned into victims for having to suffer the norms of an ordinary seaman’s life. And the integrity of an accomplished naval sea captain was sacrificed so that he could appear to be unhinged and blamed for the events that transpired.
The book also reaches its peak fairly quickly with the mutiny happening in the first third of its pages. This leaves the balance of the book filled with sometimes interesting but mostly uninteresting storylines. This issue is not helped by the fact that there are far too many characters who are so underdefined that Nordhoff’s post-mutiny references to them by name become practically meaningless.
Within the historical fiction genre, I think the best books do a remarkable job at using history as the framework for a human story. In this case, I suspect that history was bent by Nordhoff to achieve a version of the mutiny that he held at the start of writing his book.
I thought that Nordhoff overdramatized both sides of the mutiny. The crew were turned into victims for having to suffer the norms of an ordinary seaman’s life. And the integrity of an accomplished naval sea captain was sacrificed so that he could appear to be unhinged and blamed for the events that transpired.
The book also reaches its peak fairly quickly with the mutiny happening in the first third of its pages. This leaves the balance of the book filled with sometimes interesting but mostly uninteresting storylines. This issue is not helped by the fact that there are far too many characters who are so underdefined that Nordhoff’s post-mutiny references to them by name become practically meaningless.
Within the historical fiction genre, I think the best books do a remarkable job at using history as the framework for a human story. In this case, I suspect that history was bent by Nordhoff to achieve a version of the mutiny that he held at the start of writing his book.
January 4, 2023
প্রথমে গল্প(সত্য) স্লো ছিলো, শেষ অর্ধেক অনেক দ্রুত এগিয়েছে। লাস্টের দিকে তো পল্টির পর পল্টি, বিশ্বাসই হতে চায় না যে সত্য। সত্য ঘটনা কিন্তু পুরো গল্পের মতো। ভাবতেও অবাক লাগে কী অদ্ভুত জীবন নাবিকদের। বাঙলা অনুবাদে অনেক কিছু কেটে ছেটে দিছে বলে মনে হয়েছে। এতো সুন্দর বইয়ের কাটাছাটা ভার্সন না পড়াটাই উপযুক্ত ছিলো। পরের দুটো আসল ইংরেজীতে পড়তে হবে।
March 28, 2021
অনেক অনেক আগে সেবার অনুবাদ পরেছিলাম। সেই অতীতে যে অতীতে নেই আমি। এ বছর বইই পড়া হচ্ছেনা সেভাবে। তো ভাবলাম অডিওবুকের উপর ভর করি। পাব্লিক ট্রানসপোরটে ঘামের গন্ধে, গায়ের চাপে বসে বা দাঁড়িয়ে আরামে বই পড়বার এই এক উপায়। সেভাবেই ভেবে চিনতে হাত দিলাম এই বইটায়। আহ, অতীতে চলে গেলাম।মনে পড়লো সাঁতার না জানা আমি কেন সমুদ্র ভালবাসি। জাহাজ এর জীবন কেন টানে। কারণ নোনা বাতাসের মাস্তুলের জীবনবীজটা সেই কবে এই সেবার নানা বই (জুল ভারন, এই বাউন্টিতে বিদ্রোহ, তিন গোয়েন্দার এক কি দুইটা বই এবং আরও অনেকে) ভিতরে বোনা আছে।
তা এবারও ইংল্যান্ডের অভিজাত পরিবারের সন্তান মিস্টার বিয়ামের হাত ধরে চড়ে বসলাম বাউন্টিতে। ঘুরে বেড়ালাম এখানে সেখানে, নাবিকের আস্তর নিয়ে। বেপরোয়া সিদ্ধান্ত, দুর্ব্যবহার এবং রোষানলের লড়াইয়ে বিদ্রোহ দেখলাম, পৃথিবীর এ প্রান্তের নরের সাথে ও প্রান্তের নারীর প্রণয় - মিলন সব দেখলাম। আহ! বড় খাসা।
উপন্যাসটা সত্য ঘটনা অবলম্বনে। তাই পড়বার সময় বুকের ভেতর হু হু করবার অনেকখানিও সত্য! মোটেও দুঃখবিলাস নয়!
তা এবারও ইংল্যান্ডের অভিজাত পরিবারের সন্তান মিস্টার বিয়ামের হাত ধরে চড়ে বসলাম বাউন্টিতে। ঘুরে বেড়ালাম এখানে সেখানে, নাবিকের আস্তর নিয়ে। বেপরোয়া সিদ্ধান্ত, দুর্ব্যবহার এবং রোষানলের লড়াইয়ে বিদ্রোহ দেখলাম, পৃথিবীর এ প্রান্তের নরের সাথে ও প্রান্তের নারীর প্রণয় - মিলন সব দেখলাম। আহ! বড় খাসা।
উপন্যাসটা সত্য ঘটনা অবলম্বনে। তাই পড়বার সময় বুকের ভেতর হু হু করবার অনেকখানিও সত্য! মোটেও দুঃখবিলাস নয়!
September 14, 2024
Excellent!
Historically based, compelling, fascinating.
An adventure story from a time when the world was a much bigger place.
💕 ❤️ 🥰
Historically based, compelling, fascinating.
An adventure story from a time when the world was a much bigger place.
💕 ❤️ 🥰
November 22, 2019
নিষ্ঠুর, লোভী এবং বদমেজাজি ক্যাপ্টেন ব্লাইয়ের নেতৃত্বে ব্রিটিশ জাহাজ বাউন্টি রওনা দিল তাহিতি দ্বীপে। উদ্দেশ্য রুটিফল গাছ নিয়ে আসা। সাথে তাহিতিয়ান ভাষার অভিধান তৈরির জন্য যাচ্ছে যুবক বিয়্যাম।
ক্যাপ্টেনের ছোট ছোট বিষয় নিয়ে নাবিকসহ অন্যান্যদের সাথে খারাপ আচরণ, লঘু পাপে গুরুদণ্ড প্রদান প্রভৃতি কর্মকাণ্ডের কারণে একপর্যায়ে অফিসার ক্রিশ্চিয়ানের নেতৃত্বে বিদ্রোহ করে বাউন্টির নাবিকরা। ছোট্ট একটি লঞ্চে ক্যাপ্টেন ব্লাইসহ ১৮ জনকে নামিয়ে দেওয়া হয় অথৈ সমুদ্রে। কিন্তু যারা বিদ্রোহের সাথে জড়িত ছিল না বিয়্যামসহ কয়েকজন। ব্লাই কী পারবে ইংল্যাণ্ডে পৌঁছাতে? বিদ্রোহী ক্রিশ্চিয়ানরাই বা বাউন্টি নিয়ে কোথায় আশ্রয় নেবে? আর যারা বিয়্যামের মতো গোবেচারা তারা কোথায় যাবে?
তাহিতি দ্বীপের মহব্বতে পড়ে গেছি। আশ্চর্য সুন্দর এই দ্বীপ এবং সহজসরল দ্বীপবাসীদের জীবনরীতি নিয়ে জানার আগ্রহ বেড়ে গেছে।
লেখকদ্বয় তাহিতি দ্বীপের গুণকীর্তনে মুখরিত হয়েছেন। কিন্তু সাম্রাজ্যবাদী মানসিকতা ছাড়তে পারেনি। তাহিতি বাসীদের জংলি, অর্ধসভ্য, অসভ্য বলে বারবার অভিহিত করেছে। অবশ্য ভিক্টরীয় যুগের ঔপন্যাসিকদের কাছ থেকে বর্ণবাদী দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি না পেলেই অবাক হতাম।
সেবার অন্যতম সেরা অনুবাদকদের একজন নিয়াজ মোরশেদ। বেশকিছু ক্ল্যাসিক বইয়ের অনুবাদ নিয়াজ মোরশেদের হাত থেকেই পাঠক পেয়েছে। অনবদ্য এক অনুবাদকের ক্ষমতা প্রশ্নাতীত।
ক্যাপ্টেনের ছোট ছোট বিষয় নিয়ে নাবিকসহ অন্যান্যদের সাথে খারাপ আচরণ, লঘু পাপে গুরুদণ্ড প্রদান প্রভৃতি কর্মকাণ্ডের কারণে একপর্যায়ে অফিসার ক্রিশ্চিয়ানের নেতৃত্বে বিদ্রোহ করে বাউন্টির নাবিকরা। ছোট্ট একটি লঞ্চে ক্যাপ্টেন ব্লাইসহ ১৮ জনকে নামিয়ে দেওয়া হয় অথৈ সমুদ্রে। কিন্তু যারা বিদ্রোহের সাথে জড়িত ছিল না বিয়্যামসহ কয়েকজন। ব্লাই কী পারবে ইংল্যাণ্ডে পৌঁছাতে? বিদ্রোহী ক্রিশ্চিয়ানরাই বা বাউন্টি নিয়ে কোথায় আশ্রয় নেবে? আর যারা বিয়্যামের মতো গোবেচারা তারা কোথায় যাবে?
তাহিতি দ্বীপের মহব্বতে পড়ে গেছি। আশ্চর্য সুন্দর এই দ্বীপ এবং সহজসরল দ্বীপবাসীদের জীবনরীতি নিয়ে জানার আগ্রহ বেড়ে গেছে।
লেখকদ্বয় তাহিতি দ্বীপের গুণকীর্তনে মুখরিত হয়েছেন। কিন্তু সাম্রাজ্যবাদী মানসিকতা ছাড়তে পারেনি। তাহিতি বাসীদের জংলি, অর্ধসভ্য, অসভ্য বলে বারবার অভিহিত করেছে। অবশ্য ভিক্টরীয় যুগের ঔপন্যাসিকদের কাছ থেকে বর্ণবাদী দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি না পেলেই অবাক হতাম।
সেবার অন্যতম সেরা অনুবাদকদের একজন নিয়াজ মোরশেদ। বেশকিছু ক্ল্যাসিক বইয়ের অনুবাদ নিয়াজ মোরশেদের হাত থেকেই পাঠক পেয়েছে। অনবদ্য এক অনুবাদকের ক্ষমতা প্রশ্নাতীত।
January 2, 2019
As a young girl in the 1960s and 1970s I found that reading allowed me to travel, escape, dream and survive epic adventures. Many, many times my dad entered my room long past bedtime to take from me the flashlight that I was using to read while under the covers. I fell in love with adventurous and mysterious stories because they made me feel like I was living that kind of life.
Recently, I found myself awake at 3 am and arguing with myself that it was time to push the stop button on this audiobook. I couldn't bear to stop it. This seafaring tale is exciting and shocking. I wasn't sure it would be a book for me. But I loved it!
Recently, I found myself awake at 3 am and arguing with myself that it was time to push the stop button on this audiobook. I couldn't bear to stop it. This seafaring tale is exciting and shocking. I wasn't sure it would be a book for me. But I loved it!
May 24, 2010
The British (and to a lesser degree the American) Navy in the age of sail has become a staple setting of modern English-language historical fiction, exemplified by the works of Patrick O'Brian and others. While Melville's Billy Budd and White Jacket are certainly forerunners of the trend, the main impetus to the subgenre was probably C. S. Forrester's Hornblower series; but this novel by Nordhoff and Hall was roughly contemporary with Forrester's work, and also well deserves a reading by fans of the above writers. (It's actually the opening book of a Bounty trilogy, though it's the only volume that I've read.) While it's a work of fiction, it closely follows the historical events of the H.M.S. Bounty mutiny, through the eyes of Midshipman Roger Byam, portrayed as one of the loyal crew members who were forced to remain with the mutineers because of insufficient room in the longboats used to set Bligh and his other loyalists adrift at sea (and later unjustly charged as accomplices in the mutiny).
I recall the book as having a straightforward, well-written style and an eventful plot that easily held my interest (among other things, the narrator ultimately endures an open-boat sea voyage that parallels that of Bligh and his crew earlier). The fact that it has been adapted as a movie at least twice testifies to the popular interest it has evoked; and Bligh probably "enjoys" (if that's the word!) his status as an icon for bullying tyranny to the power of this literary portrayal, and the cinematic ones based on it, to brand itself in people's minds. The authors do use a significant amount of sail-age nautical jargon and naval terminology that won't be intelligible to all readers (as a teen, for instance, I had no clue what the role of a "master-at-arms" is. or was, and the names of various parts of the ship and its rigging were Greek to me), but the novel fascinated me nonetheless!
I recall the book as having a straightforward, well-written style and an eventful plot that easily held my interest (among other things, the narrator ultimately endures an open-boat sea voyage that parallels that of Bligh and his crew earlier). The fact that it has been adapted as a movie at least twice testifies to the popular interest it has evoked; and Bligh probably "enjoys" (if that's the word!) his status as an icon for bullying tyranny to the power of this literary portrayal, and the cinematic ones based on it, to brand itself in people's minds. The authors do use a significant amount of sail-age nautical jargon and naval terminology that won't be intelligible to all readers (as a teen, for instance, I had no clue what the role of a "master-at-arms" is. or was, and the names of various parts of the ship and its rigging were Greek to me), but the novel fascinated me nonetheless!
July 14, 2020
হাল আমলের অনেক বইই মেদের প্রাচুর্যতায় অভিযুক্ত। সাম্প্রতিক কালের লেখকগণ নিজের সৃষ্টিকে এমনি পুষ্টিকর খাদ্য প্রদান করেন যে, দুশো পৃষ্ঠার বই অনায়েসেই পাঁচশ' পৃষ্ঠার বালিশে পরিণত হয়।
এই বইয়ের রূপান্তরক অবশ্য মেদ কমানোর চেষ্টায় ছিলেন। তবে চারশ' পৃষ্ঠার বই দেড়শ' পৃষ্ঠায় নামানোর পর মেদতো দূরে থাক, বইএ মাংসের অভাব দেখা দিয়েছে। জাহাজের নাবিক হওয়া থেকে শুরু করে প্রেম করে বিয়ে করা, সব কিছুই যেনো চোখের পলকে হয়ে যায়। এতো তাড়াতাড়ি এইসব জিনিস হয়ে গেল যে ভাবলাম, সিনেমার স্ক্রিপ্ট নাকি?
তবু বইটার গল্প অসম্ভব ভাল। আর চারিদিকে মেদের প্রাচুর্যতায় এই অপেক্ষাকৃত হাড্ডিসার বুড়োকে খারাপও লাগার কথা নয়।
এই বইয়ের রূপান্তরক অবশ্য মেদ কমানোর চেষ্টায় ছিলেন। তবে চারশ' পৃষ্ঠার বই দেড়শ' পৃষ্ঠায় নামানোর পর মেদতো দূরে থাক, বইএ মাংসের অভাব দেখা দিয়েছে। জাহাজের নাবিক হওয়া থেকে শুরু করে প্রেম করে বিয়ে করা, সব কিছুই যেনো চোখের পলকে হয়ে যায়। এতো তাড়াতাড়ি এইসব জিনিস হয়ে গেল যে ভাবলাম, সিনেমার স্ক্রিপ্ট নাকি?
তবু বইটার গল্প অসম্ভব ভাল। আর চারিদিকে মেদের প্রাচুর্যতায় এই অপেক্ষাকৃত হাড্ডিসার বুড়োকে খারাপও লাগার কথা নয়।
August 25, 2023
সেবা প্রকাশনী এই সব পুরাতন অনুবাদ গুলো যেন একেকটি রত্ন। যত পড়ি মুগ্ধ হয়ে যায়।
কি সুন্দর ঝরঝরে অনুবাদ,আর কি দারুন বইয়ের সিলেকশন।
ফুল ট্রিলজি টা পড়ার ইচ্ছা আছে সম্পূর্ণ ঘটনা জানার জন্য।
পুরো ট্রিলজিটি একসাথে রিপ্রিন্ট হলে অসাধারণ কালেকশন যোগ্য একটি বই পাওয়া যেত।
কি সুন্দর ঝরঝরে অনুবাদ,আর কি দারুন বইয়ের সিলেকশন।
ফুল ট্রিলজি টা পড়ার ইচ্ছা আছে সম্পূর্ণ ঘটনা জানার জন্য।
পুরো ট্রিলজিটি একসাথে রিপ্রিন্ট হলে অসাধারণ কালেকশন যোগ্য একটি বই পাওয়া যেত।
December 21, 2023
সবকিছু মিলিয়ে একটা জমজমাট কাহিনী। অসাধারণ।
April 14, 2015
When I started this I was slightly worried because a) it's written by two authors and I though it might be jarring when it switched from one to the other b) N. C. Wyeth's illustrations had several top-less ladies and c) the books didn't seem very happy I knew almost for certain how it would end.
But... I really enjoyed it. A) the writing is seamless from one to the other. I truly could not tell who was writing. Maybe because they both edited each other's writing. B) While the island ladies don't wear tops all the time (just sunshade cloaks), they aren't loose and are represented as being like women everywhere else, some are doxies and some are respectable. We aren't shown the doxies much, no more than seeing them swarming the ships. C) it wasn't happy. I wish I could change the outcome for some of the characters. I wish I could get a ship and give it to Roger Byam so he could sail back to Tehani on the island of Tahiti. I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE ENDING. I have my own version in my head that the romanic me likes better.
It did help knowing that the main character Roger Byam was fictional. I found his making of a dictionary in Tahitian interesting and for him lifesaving.
One thing I really like it that I could put it down and when easily get back into it when I picked it back up. I'll definitely be reading more by these authors.
Would I reread this? Sure. But it's not a comfort read. I would have given it 3 1/2 but the writing, the characters and the plot were just so good that I couldn't hold the ending against it. After all, the authors couldn't really change the truth.
PG Few swears, some sailors have island girls and a few marry the island girls. Perfectly clean though, just a kiss or two. The violence is fairly strong in the beginning with several floggings for minor offenses and later some cruelty not in violence but in human kindness. (less)
January 15, 2014
In diesem Roman wird die Geschichte der Meuterei auf der Bounty aus der Sicht des Kadetten Roger Byams in fesselnder Weise erzählt. Selbst nicht aktiv an dem Aufstand beteiligt, muss dieser dennoch an Bord bleiben, während Captain Bligh mit achtzehn Getreuen in einer Barkasse ausgesetzt wird. Später erzählt er von seiner Zeit auf Tahiti, wo er weiter an der Vollständigkeit eines Wörterbuchs der Sprache Tahitis arbeitet, im Auftrag des berühmten Naturforschers Sir Joseph Banks. Da, der die Meuterei anführende Erste Offizier, Fletcher Christian zu der Zeit bereits mit der Bounty weitergesegelt ist, um nach einer abgelegenen Insel zu suchen, erfährt der Leser von dessen Schicksal nur noch kurz am Ende. Vielmehr nimmt die Rückfahrt der Pandora mit einigen der aufgespürten Meuterern und Unfreiwilligen wie Byam nach England, einen beträchtlichen Teil des abenteuerlichen Berichtes ein. Das folgende Kriegsgericht wird ebenso detailiert und spannend geschildert. - Allein vom Erzählstil und Wortgebrauch ein wahrer Genuss!
January 3, 2018
Okay, so I was in between books and decided to go back and read this one, which, if I am being honest, I never read in high school when I was supposed to. It is a LONG read, but I am glad I read it. The narrator's story is told plainly, with a fine attention to detail. I can't say I loved how it all went down, and several of the character's stories were quite poignant. Still, I am happy I chose to read this again as an adult, and recommend it for anyone who thinks they remember it from school. It's funny how different a book can seem from an adult point of view.
March 3, 2014
There's something about a good story of adversity at sea to get the blood pumping. Robert Louis Stevenson figured that out. He made a name for himself by writing stories of pirates. In "Mutiny on the Bounty", Nordhoff and Hall have hit a home run by writing about mutiny. Their novel takes place in 1789 - 1794 on board the British armed merchantman "Bounty", which traveled from England to Tahiti to pick up a load of Breadfruit trees with the purpose of planting the trees in the West Indies to provide a cheap source of food for slaves in the new world. Although this is a novel, the story of the mutiny is a true story, with lots of drama to go around.
This story actually has five parts to it. The first part is the story of the voyage from England to Tahiti, which highlights the brutality of life in the British navy and the sacrifices of life at sea. The second part is the stay at Tahiti, which is a great description of the natives on the island and the paradise that is life in the South Pacific. The third part is the story of the mutiny itself, which is full of drama. The fourth part is the story of the trip back to England which involved imprisonment and a shipwreck and a desperate trek through thousands of miles of open ocean. The fifth part is the story of the trial of the mutineers, which was also full of drama. The story keeps the reader riveted. The characters are very well developed and the story has lots of twists and surprises.
It is interesting that Captain Bligh was such a tyrannical commander. I often find it interesting that naval officers in works of fiction tend to be so much more psychotic and controlling than officers of other services. Consider Captain Queeg in the "Caine Mutiny" and Captain Ahab in "Moby Dick". Bligh may actually be the worst captain of the lot, although Nordhoff and Hall make him a complex and interesting guy.
I would highly recommend "Mutiny on the Bounty" to anyone.
This story actually has five parts to it. The first part is the story of the voyage from England to Tahiti, which highlights the brutality of life in the British navy and the sacrifices of life at sea. The second part is the stay at Tahiti, which is a great description of the natives on the island and the paradise that is life in the South Pacific. The third part is the story of the mutiny itself, which is full of drama. The fourth part is the story of the trip back to England which involved imprisonment and a shipwreck and a desperate trek through thousands of miles of open ocean. The fifth part is the story of the trial of the mutineers, which was also full of drama. The story keeps the reader riveted. The characters are very well developed and the story has lots of twists and surprises.
It is interesting that Captain Bligh was such a tyrannical commander. I often find it interesting that naval officers in works of fiction tend to be so much more psychotic and controlling than officers of other services. Consider Captain Queeg in the "Caine Mutiny" and Captain Ahab in "Moby Dick". Bligh may actually be the worst captain of the lot, although Nordhoff and Hall make him a complex and interesting guy.
I would highly recommend "Mutiny on the Bounty" to anyone.
July 31, 2016
I kind of feel bad for giving only 4 stars. I have a thing with the sea, as I often mention, and I have researched a lot when it comes to the nautical history in 19th century. I was prejudiced.
Still, it lived upto the expeditions. Not the perfect story of a voyage one might expect , but it was one heck of a voyage nonetheless.
Still, it lived upto the expeditions. Not the perfect story of a voyage one might expect , but it was one heck of a voyage nonetheless.
November 25, 2021
A beautifully written, but deeply sad book. It's both an adventure story and also a meditation on change and getting old. It's so much better than the movies, and the movies are pretty good. I loved this.
December 31, 2013
a very interesting historical book. I had never heard of The Bounty or Pitcairn's island but now I am researching it.
February 27, 2022
An eloquently told epic of the hard life at sea. It is easy to see why this has become a Classic!
March 6, 2019
5/5. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
The story, summarized, goes a little like this:
Roger Byam, a young boy, and his mother are invited to dinner with the famous William Bligh through their ties to Captain Cook, who Bligh served under. At dinner, Byam is presented with the choice to join Bligh and the crew that serves under him aboard the collier H.M.S. Bounty. Byam accepts, and what follows is one of the most thrilling classics of all time. Bligh’s true nature is revealed, and tensions aboard the ship mount as Byam is trapped in a wooden madhouse directed at tropical islands thousands of miles from his home in Britain. When things seem to have cooled down, and they embark back towards Britain to return home after loading with the desired cargoes, the unbelievable happens, and Byam is sent adrift once again in the Bounty, a mutinous madhouse fighting against nature and all of Britain.
This book was nothing short of incredible. It takes its time in building characters and tensions until everything breaks apart in chapter 10. From there, the tale evolves further, as Roger Byam (a fictitious character, whose experiences follow that of Peter Heywood, a midshipman aboard the Bounty) is left on Tahiti.
And the story continues, and even becomes a romance for some time before the action returns and the thrills continue as the story of H.M.S. Pandora, the Bounty prisoners, and the crew is followed through to the end, where the characters arrive back in Britain.
After being put on trial and then released, the story concludes back in Tahiti, making for a completely satisfying and incredible book.
And thus concludes my review of Mutiny On The Bounty, and I look forward to hopefully being able to read Men Against The Sea, a sequel, next time.
The story, summarized, goes a little like this:
Roger Byam, a young boy, and his mother are invited to dinner with the famous William Bligh through their ties to Captain Cook, who Bligh served under. At dinner, Byam is presented with the choice to join Bligh and the crew that serves under him aboard the collier H.M.S. Bounty. Byam accepts, and what follows is one of the most thrilling classics of all time. Bligh’s true nature is revealed, and tensions aboard the ship mount as Byam is trapped in a wooden madhouse directed at tropical islands thousands of miles from his home in Britain. When things seem to have cooled down, and they embark back towards Britain to return home after loading with the desired cargoes, the unbelievable happens, and Byam is sent adrift once again in the Bounty, a mutinous madhouse fighting against nature and all of Britain.
This book was nothing short of incredible. It takes its time in building characters and tensions until everything breaks apart in chapter 10. From there, the tale evolves further, as Roger Byam (a fictitious character, whose experiences follow that of Peter Heywood, a midshipman aboard the Bounty) is left on Tahiti.
And the story continues, and even becomes a romance for some time before the action returns and the thrills continue as the story of H.M.S. Pandora, the Bounty prisoners, and the crew is followed through to the end, where the characters arrive back in Britain.
After being put on trial and then released, the story concludes back in Tahiti, making for a completely satisfying and incredible book.
And thus concludes my review of Mutiny On The Bounty, and I look forward to hopefully being able to read Men Against The Sea, a sequel, next time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2020
Though fiction, this book is based on actual events. I read it for pleasure during high school, possibly after having seen one of the movie versions.
September 30, 2020
Who doesn’t love a good story of redemption?!
Oh, did you think I was talking about Mutiny on the Bounty? I suppose that could apply, but I was actually talking about my sister. Waves of controversy slapped across the internet a couple months ago when I posted my negative review of The Road to Little Dribbling which was recommended to me by my little sis. Had I forever damaged our tight relationship? Were we never going to talk literature again? Was she going to take the drastic step of endorsing my younger sibling as her favorite brother instead of me? (Okay, that may be going a bit far … I mean, if you knew him, then …) I have to admit that you could say that our relationship seemed to be on a lee shore, not unlike the Bounty’s unfortunate crew members.
But then, I got this simple text from her: “Have you read Mutiny on the Bounty?”
Oh, I had heard of it. As someone who reads historical sailing novels (the obvious Treasure Island, Moby Dick, and Forester’s Hornblower series? Check and double check; the less obvious James Fenimore Cooper’s The Red Rover, Sabatini’s Captain Blood, and Melville’s Typee? You betcha; nonfiction works on Columbus, Drake, Magellan, John Paul Jones, Lord Nelson, Revolutionary War naval actions, whaling, The Essex, etcetera? Yep and yeppers)--I mean, I even wrote a historical sailing novel (How to Become a Pirate Hunter--how have you not picked it up yet?!) for heaven’s sakes--you don’t get that much reading done without getting snippets of the Bounty, which is referred to as kind of a foundational work that everyone in that field already knows.
Yet I had never read it. And my sister, who had heard of it from her father-in-law, passed onto me (from him): “If Marty hasn’t read this book then I’ve given him the greatest gift of his life.”
The jury is still out on what the greatest gift of my life will end up being (still waiting to hear back on that lifetime full access pass to the Library of Congress), but let’s just say that this is definitely in the running! Thanks, Sis. You provided plenty of invested if not excited reading over the past couple of weeks.
So, Mutiny on the Bounty … it’s based on the real mutiny on the Bounty--an event so dramatic that it hardly needs fictionalizing. Yet, I approve of this fictionalization, since it does not change events (too much, as far as I was able to pick up with my research), but it does allow us to get character thoughts and feelings in the thick of the action, while also filling in some gaps that the real events are unable to assert even though logic presumes it.
Also, the pacing of the story is clearly handled by novelists who know when to move a story and when to dwell on the details of a new character, scene, or event--something non-fiction authors do not always comprehend or are unable to achieve when limited by the strictures of fact.
What this means is that with each new development, whether it is introducing characters, detailing the ship and life on the sea, dropping hints of unrest and tyranny, presenting Tahiti with its vivid culture and people, revealing the mutiny itself and the crazy (and I mean crazy) events that unfold afterwards, we are engaged in the whole process.
The reason this book works so well and on so many levels is that it checks off a dominating majority of Marty’s quirky passions: sailing, linguistics, exploration, ethnography, native islander romance (okay, maybe that’s not a passion of mine … maybe), effective (and ineffective) governing, survival, legal dramas, grave injustices addressed.
If any single one of those matches with your passions, you certainly would find at least some of this novel appealing. If none of them, then I’ve probably missed some obvious draws that you would like. I have a difficult time imagining someone not liking this story unless they are strictly into reading novels written within their lifetime (clearly the antithesis to me!).
So, while I cannot vouch with absolute certainty the promise of my sister’s father-in-law that this will be “the greatest gift of your life,” but even if it’s the greatest gift of your next two weeks, that that’s a pretty compelling reason to pick it up.
Oh, did you think I was talking about Mutiny on the Bounty? I suppose that could apply, but I was actually talking about my sister. Waves of controversy slapped across the internet a couple months ago when I posted my negative review of The Road to Little Dribbling which was recommended to me by my little sis. Had I forever damaged our tight relationship? Were we never going to talk literature again? Was she going to take the drastic step of endorsing my younger sibling as her favorite brother instead of me? (Okay, that may be going a bit far … I mean, if you knew him, then …) I have to admit that you could say that our relationship seemed to be on a lee shore, not unlike the Bounty’s unfortunate crew members.
But then, I got this simple text from her: “Have you read Mutiny on the Bounty?”
Oh, I had heard of it. As someone who reads historical sailing novels (the obvious Treasure Island, Moby Dick, and Forester’s Hornblower series? Check and double check; the less obvious James Fenimore Cooper’s The Red Rover, Sabatini’s Captain Blood, and Melville’s Typee? You betcha; nonfiction works on Columbus, Drake, Magellan, John Paul Jones, Lord Nelson, Revolutionary War naval actions, whaling, The Essex, etcetera? Yep and yeppers)--I mean, I even wrote a historical sailing novel (How to Become a Pirate Hunter--how have you not picked it up yet?!) for heaven’s sakes--you don’t get that much reading done without getting snippets of the Bounty, which is referred to as kind of a foundational work that everyone in that field already knows.
Yet I had never read it. And my sister, who had heard of it from her father-in-law, passed onto me (from him): “If Marty hasn’t read this book then I’ve given him the greatest gift of his life.”
The jury is still out on what the greatest gift of my life will end up being (still waiting to hear back on that lifetime full access pass to the Library of Congress), but let’s just say that this is definitely in the running! Thanks, Sis. You provided plenty of invested if not excited reading over the past couple of weeks.
So, Mutiny on the Bounty … it’s based on the real mutiny on the Bounty--an event so dramatic that it hardly needs fictionalizing. Yet, I approve of this fictionalization, since it does not change events (too much, as far as I was able to pick up with my research), but it does allow us to get character thoughts and feelings in the thick of the action, while also filling in some gaps that the real events are unable to assert even though logic presumes it.
Also, the pacing of the story is clearly handled by novelists who know when to move a story and when to dwell on the details of a new character, scene, or event--something non-fiction authors do not always comprehend or are unable to achieve when limited by the strictures of fact.
What this means is that with each new development, whether it is introducing characters, detailing the ship and life on the sea, dropping hints of unrest and tyranny, presenting Tahiti with its vivid culture and people, revealing the mutiny itself and the crazy (and I mean crazy) events that unfold afterwards, we are engaged in the whole process.
The reason this book works so well and on so many levels is that it checks off a dominating majority of Marty’s quirky passions: sailing, linguistics, exploration, ethnography, native islander romance (okay, maybe that’s not a passion of mine … maybe), effective (and ineffective) governing, survival, legal dramas, grave injustices addressed.
If any single one of those matches with your passions, you certainly would find at least some of this novel appealing. If none of them, then I’ve probably missed some obvious draws that you would like. I have a difficult time imagining someone not liking this story unless they are strictly into reading novels written within their lifetime (clearly the antithesis to me!).
So, while I cannot vouch with absolute certainty the promise of my sister’s father-in-law that this will be “the greatest gift of your life,” but even if it’s the greatest gift of your next two weeks, that that’s a pretty compelling reason to pick it up.
January 18, 2019
This is one of the best known classic sea adventure stories. Based on a true event.
February 16, 2021
Love is the food of marriage; let not yours starve.
July 30, 2021
الغالب على روايات تلك الحقبة السفر ورحلات ومعنات البحارة وسلوب معيشتهم ثما الحديث عن الجزر في المحيط الاطلسي او الدول الافريقية المحتله من الانجليز لكن الغالب على اللكتاب خيالهم والخصب.
October 29, 2022
Wonderful novel and I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile. Glad to have finally done it. Not disappointed.
September 6, 2023
توقفت في منتصفها تقريبا او اكثر بقليل لم تشدني كثيرا كنت أتوقع منها اكثر من وذلك ولكني صدمت بأنها تقريبا كتاب سيرة او مذكرات شخصية تسير أحداثها برتم بطيء.
October 12, 2023
Beautiful prose and perfection in editing, this is truly a classic.
I read it slowly to absorb every last bit.
I read it slowly to absorb every last bit.
July 28, 2023
What Mutiny does well is mythologize one of the great dramas of naval history. Nordhoff and Hall lay bare the high-functioning dysfunction of life aboard a merchant vessel, revealing how maritime disasters stem just as often from malice and error as natural forces. The historic source material works well in the “adventure story” genre. The end result is a read that is highly entertaining albeit formulaic.
Given the 1932 publishing date, Mutiny’s Polynesian chapters are refreshingly respectful, portraying Tahitian culture with a nuanced, reverential air that never teeters into exoticism.
Nordhoff (who wrote these chapters) possesses an anachronistically sharp consciousness of colonialism’s dangers. In one chapter, the narrator laments the introduction of bartering to the Tahitians, as it also ushered in tendencies to hoard, envy, and steal––previously unknown vices on the island. In another, he disparages the arrival of missionaries, whose only lasting influences on Tahiti were ravaging pestilence and culture loss.
Unfortunately, despite these qualities and its overall readability, Mutiny fell flat for me. Characters are the novel’s biggest issue: of four major characters and some thirty or forty minor, all suffer from being board-flat. Roger Byam, the narrator, is the worst offender: an utter paragon of virtue from cover to cover, who never succumbs to vice or even pernicious thought across the narrative’s action. A true Mickey Mouse, he floats in and around the conflict lobotomized of all human emotion save his boring allegiance to duty and the Crown (which is inexplicable given how much the Crown abuses him). Worst of all, when Byam finally has the autonomy to learn from his experiences and change his life, the dullard spurns his wife and daughter (who are loyally awaiting his return to Tahiti) so he can join the Navy again. The same Navy that destroyed Polynesia and was happy to hang him on flimsy evidence one chapter ago. Unreal jingoism.
Bligh’s (apparently ahistorical) status as a vicious antagonist shows a lot of promise in the first third, but is squandered by his total absence during the rising action and climax. I was anticipating his reappearance for the climactic court-martial, but instead he is only seen again like three pages from the end, in what basically amounts to a post-credits scene where the authors take turns punching him below the belt.
(As an aside, I found it hilarious to see Bligh––my ancestor––have his name dragged through the mud for 371 pages. The only respite coming from an extremely reluctant acknowledgement that his feat of surviving thousands of leagues of open ocean in a dinghy was cool.)
I think a big part of why Mutiny’s characters are so flat is because the authors were concerned with mischaracterizing real people and drawing lawsuits. Which honestly just makes the constant Bligh libel even funnier.
What’s frustrating is that with better realized characters, there’s a lot of really interesting conversations happening in Mutiny on the Bounty, despite it being a mass market adventure novel. “Sea justice” is a prominent one. What constitutes justice? We see guys flogged to death, hanged, manacled in squalid brigs, and press-ganged into naval service. Officers embezzle ship rations, steal valuables, and report sailors to curry favor with the captain. Are mutinies ever just? We’re also shown the brutality of the British colonial project, and how it exploits its own subjects as much as it does the “Indians.”
But what do Nordhoff and Hall say about any of this? In effect, basically nothing; their criticism begins and ends with Bligh the individual, thus signaling their tacit approval of the customs and culture that creates captains like Bligh. Byam happily joins the Navy again, eager to advance British dominion over Europe and the world. Have I mentioned that the purpose of the HMS Bounty was to transport Tahitian breadfruit trees to the West Indies for use as cheap slave food? Yet no character, not even altruistic, Tahiti-loving Byam, takes issue with this purpose or recognizes the hypocrisy.
In Mutiny, Nordhoff and Hall exceed at dramatizing history and fixing the spotlight on injustice. But when it comes time to say something against it, they’re as mute and complicit as those who stayed aboard the Bounty to save their own skins.
Given the 1932 publishing date, Mutiny’s Polynesian chapters are refreshingly respectful, portraying Tahitian culture with a nuanced, reverential air that never teeters into exoticism.
Nordhoff (who wrote these chapters) possesses an anachronistically sharp consciousness of colonialism’s dangers. In one chapter, the narrator laments the introduction of bartering to the Tahitians, as it also ushered in tendencies to hoard, envy, and steal––previously unknown vices on the island. In another, he disparages the arrival of missionaries, whose only lasting influences on Tahiti were ravaging pestilence and culture loss.
Unfortunately, despite these qualities and its overall readability, Mutiny fell flat for me. Characters are the novel’s biggest issue: of four major characters and some thirty or forty minor, all suffer from being board-flat. Roger Byam, the narrator, is the worst offender: an utter paragon of virtue from cover to cover, who never succumbs to vice or even pernicious thought across the narrative’s action. A true Mickey Mouse, he floats in and around the conflict lobotomized of all human emotion save his boring allegiance to duty and the Crown (which is inexplicable given how much the Crown abuses him). Worst of all, when Byam finally has the autonomy to learn from his experiences and change his life, the dullard spurns his wife and daughter (who are loyally awaiting his return to Tahiti) so he can join the Navy again. The same Navy that destroyed Polynesia and was happy to hang him on flimsy evidence one chapter ago. Unreal jingoism.
Bligh’s (apparently ahistorical) status as a vicious antagonist shows a lot of promise in the first third, but is squandered by his total absence during the rising action and climax. I was anticipating his reappearance for the climactic court-martial, but instead he is only seen again like three pages from the end, in what basically amounts to a post-credits scene where the authors take turns punching him below the belt.
(As an aside, I found it hilarious to see Bligh––my ancestor––have his name dragged through the mud for 371 pages. The only respite coming from an extremely reluctant acknowledgement that his feat of surviving thousands of leagues of open ocean in a dinghy was cool.)
I think a big part of why Mutiny’s characters are so flat is because the authors were concerned with mischaracterizing real people and drawing lawsuits. Which honestly just makes the constant Bligh libel even funnier.
What’s frustrating is that with better realized characters, there’s a lot of really interesting conversations happening in Mutiny on the Bounty, despite it being a mass market adventure novel. “Sea justice” is a prominent one. What constitutes justice? We see guys flogged to death, hanged, manacled in squalid brigs, and press-ganged into naval service. Officers embezzle ship rations, steal valuables, and report sailors to curry favor with the captain. Are mutinies ever just? We’re also shown the brutality of the British colonial project, and how it exploits its own subjects as much as it does the “Indians.”
But what do Nordhoff and Hall say about any of this? In effect, basically nothing; their criticism begins and ends with Bligh the individual, thus signaling their tacit approval of the customs and culture that creates captains like Bligh. Byam happily joins the Navy again, eager to advance British dominion over Europe and the world. Have I mentioned that the purpose of the HMS Bounty was to transport Tahitian breadfruit trees to the West Indies for use as cheap slave food? Yet no character, not even altruistic, Tahiti-loving Byam, takes issue with this purpose or recognizes the hypocrisy.
In Mutiny, Nordhoff and Hall exceed at dramatizing history and fixing the spotlight on injustice. But when it comes time to say something against it, they’re as mute and complicit as those who stayed aboard the Bounty to save their own skins.
May 24, 2025
A very informative seafaring narrative with deeply melancholic undertones.
Yep you’ve guessed it this book is about a mutiny. However, there’s much more to it than that. As the actual lead up and occurrence of the mutiny is relatively brief, the novel really explores how the mutiny affected the crew of the bounty for years to come. I think the book is best enjoyed without prior knowledge of the real world events so I won’t describe the plot further.
All you really need to know is that if you are interested in the “age of sail” and stories of the sea you should read this. It is very informative as to what life was like in the navy and the state of the “south seas” at the time. The narrator is a midshipman that is friends with the lead mutineer but stays loyal to the captain so both sides of the mutiny are well represented. The narrative is somewhat romanticized but the authors don’t pull any punches displaying the brutality of sea life and naval discipline. The novel is written with a matter of fact tone, so, it’s not exactly dripping with pathos, but I definitely was moved by the time I turned the last page.
The novel deals well with shades of grey and leaves the reader with much to think about. Was the mutiny justified? How much authority should a captain have? When does discipline become abuse? Is a policy of absolute obedience right? When can a crime be forgiven?…
Overall, it’s not an extremely entertaining reading experience but it succeeds greatly as a historical novel.
Yep you’ve guessed it this book is about a mutiny. However, there’s much more to it than that. As the actual lead up and occurrence of the mutiny is relatively brief, the novel really explores how the mutiny affected the crew of the bounty for years to come. I think the book is best enjoyed without prior knowledge of the real world events so I won’t describe the plot further.
All you really need to know is that if you are interested in the “age of sail” and stories of the sea you should read this. It is very informative as to what life was like in the navy and the state of the “south seas” at the time. The narrator is a midshipman that is friends with the lead mutineer but stays loyal to the captain so both sides of the mutiny are well represented. The narrative is somewhat romanticized but the authors don’t pull any punches displaying the brutality of sea life and naval discipline. The novel is written with a matter of fact tone, so, it’s not exactly dripping with pathos, but I definitely was moved by the time I turned the last page.
The novel deals well with shades of grey and leaves the reader with much to think about. Was the mutiny justified? How much authority should a captain have? When does discipline become abuse? Is a policy of absolute obedience right? When can a crime be forgiven?…
Overall, it’s not an extremely entertaining reading experience but it succeeds greatly as a historical novel.
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