The Log of a Sea-Waif

by Frank T. Bullen

Many boys clamour for a sea life, will not settle down to anything ashore, in spite of the pleading of parents, the warnings of wisdom, or the doleful experiences of friends. Occasionally at schools there breaks out a sort of epidemic of "going to sea," for which there is apparently no proximate cause, but which rages fiercely for a time, carrying off such high-spirited youths as can prevail upon those responsible for them to agree to their making a trial of a seafaring life.

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Frank Thomas Bullen (1857–1915), British author and novelist, was born of poor parents in Paddington, London, on 5 April 1857. At the age of 9 he left school and took up work as an errand boy. He led a roving and adventurous life, and many of the most thrilling episodes in his books were records of his own experiences. After various adventures on shore he went to sea in 1869, and for some years roughed it in various capacities in the merchant service, suffering great hardships, as vividly described in 'The Log of a Sea Waif' and other books. In 1883 he became a clerk in the Meteorological Office until 1889. His reputation was made over the publication of The Cruise of the " Cachelot" (1906); and he also wrote, amongst other books, Idylls of the Sea (1899); Sea Wrack (1903); The Call of the Deep (1907) and A Compleat Sea Cook (1912), besides many articles and essays. He died on March 1, 1915.

Reviews

[Jim Leckband · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dickens never set any of his books at sea, which is a shame since there is as much character and drama on a ship as in London. But since Dickens was a landlubber we are fortunate to have Bullen's account of life as a boy on the merchant marine boats in the 1870's.

You would expect me to call this book "Dickensian" but then that would be a fib. Because it occurred to me while reading this book that Dickens was just being a realist. In this book we have a non-fictional depiction of life during those times by a boy where the horrible people he meets and the ensuing sordid situations could be something out of Oliver Twist on a boat. So maybe instead of "Dickensian" we should just say "Lower Class Victorian"?

As a manual of management, this book is probably worth a shelf-full of the business-speak effluvia that is out there ("7 Bowel Methods of the Highly Constipated", "Who Moved My Movement?", "The One-Minute Bathroom Visit" etc.) As it turns out on Bullen's voyages, the captains that treat their crews with respect, high wages and comfort had smooth-running (and profitable) ships, while those who were incompetent, power-hungry and skinflint had ships that were floating (if that) nightmares.

Bullen turned out to be a very good writer, which we can anticipate during our reading. His favorite place onshore is not a gin joint, but a library. His understanding and reading of people is superb and his descriptions are sometimes breathtaking. As far as why he wrote it, here are his own words

...I have been assured, upon very high authority, that a book like mine, telling just the naked, unadorned truth about an ordinary boy's ordinary life at sea, could not fail to be of interest as a human document.

Well, he wasn't ordinary and his life wasn't either, and this book certainly did not fail to be interesting!

[Augustus · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an extraordinary few years of life Frank Bullen recalls. Going to see at the age of 12 and having to put up with bullying, hunger, cold, poverty - but also sunshine, laughter, cigars, beauty and adventure