What do you think?
Rate this book
William Dampier
William Dampier was an English explorer and navigator who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian, as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between Sir Walter Raleigh and James Cook.After impressing the Admiralty with his book A New Voyage Round the World, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship and made important discoveries in western Australia, before being court-martialled for cruelty. On a later voyage he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier include James Cook, Horatio Nelson, Charles Darwin, and Alfred Russel The Buccaneers—Navigation in the Seventeenth Century—Features of the Vocational Life of the Early MarinerDampier's Early Life—Campeché—He joins the Buccaneers, 1652-1681Dampier's First Voyage round the World, 1681-1691The Voyage of the "Roebuck," 1699-1701The Voyage of the "St. George," 1702-1706-7The Voyage With Woodes Rogers, 1708-1711
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1889
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
William Clark Russell
452 books17 followersWilliam Clark Russell was a popular American writer of nautical novels and horror stories.
Russell gained his experience of sea life during eight years' service as a sailor. Then he was a journalist on the staff of the Daily Chronicle before he took to writing his many novels, only a few of which are listed here.
As a testament to the popularity of Russell's novels in his day, one can read about him at the beginning of the Sherlock Holmes story "The Five Orange Pips," where Doctor Watson is shown 'deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea stories'.
According to modern scholar John Sutherland, The Wreck of the Grosvenor (1877) was "the most popular mid-Victorian melodrama of adventure and heroism at sea."[1] It remained popular and widely read in illustrated editions well into the first half of the 20th century.[2] It was Russell best selling and most well known novel.[2] Russell noted in a preface, the novel 'found its first and best welcome in the United States.'[1]
William Clark Russell was the son of composer Henry Russell, the brother of impresario Henry Russell, and the half brother of conductor Landon Ronald. His horror work has similarities to the nautical horror stories of William Hope Hodgson.
Russell gained his experience of sea life during eight years' service as a sailor. Then he was a journalist on the staff of the Daily Chronicle before he took to writing his many novels, only a few of which are listed here.
As a testament to the popularity of Russell's novels in his day, one can read about him at the beginning of the Sherlock Holmes story "The Five Orange Pips," where Doctor Watson is shown 'deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea stories'.
According to modern scholar John Sutherland, The Wreck of the Grosvenor (1877) was "the most popular mid-Victorian melodrama of adventure and heroism at sea."[1] It remained popular and widely read in illustrated editions well into the first half of the 20th century.[2] It was Russell best selling and most well known novel.[2] Russell noted in a preface, the novel 'found its first and best welcome in the United States.'[1]
William Clark Russell was the son of composer Henry Russell, the brother of impresario Henry Russell, and the half brother of conductor Landon Ronald. His horror work has similarities to the nautical horror stories of William Hope Hodgson.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 13, 2019
The author seems quite taken with Dampier. The thing that distinguishes him among his buccaneer piers was his ability to observe and clearly describe his surroundings. Sailing leadership has long been politically driven so that people without influence had a difficult time getting good positions. This history droned on for me. The author seemed to get excited about mundane things, probably the result of some discovery during tedious research. There are better histories of Dampier.
Displaying 1 of 1 review