What do you think?
Rate this book
Overdue The Story of a Missing Ship
William Joseph Cosens Lancaster (1851-1922) was a civil engineer who specialised in seas and harbours. He wrote Juvenile Adventures under the pseudonym Harry Collingwood. His works include: The Secret of the Sands (1879), Under the Meteor Flag: Log of a Midshipman During the French Revolutionary War (1884), The Voyage of the Aurora (1885), The Pirate Island: A Story of the West African Coast (1885), The Congo Rovers: A Story of the Slave Squadron (1886), The Log of the Flying Fish: A Story of Aerial and Submarine Peril and Adventure (1887), The Rover's Secret: A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba (1888), The Missing Merchantman (1889), The Doctor of the Juliet (1892), Jack Beresford's Yarn (1896), For Treasure Bound (1897), The Log of a Privateersman (1897), The Homeward Voyage (1897), An Ocean Chase (1898), A Pirate of the Caribbees (1898), The Castaways (1899), Across the Spanish Main (1906), Dick Leslie's Luck (1906), Geoffrey Harrington's Adventures (1907), Blue and Grey (1908), With Airship and Submarine (1908), A Middy in Command: A Tale of the Slave Squadron (1909) and Two Gallant Sons of Devon (1913).
Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2022
5 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 24, 2017
The bio of this author says that he wrote books for juveniles, and this book being devoid of sex, and only implied violence (although there were a few deaths alluded to without much detail) might then fit into that category. But other than those refreshing breaks from compulsory drama, it is a good story, although not entirely original, with a message to boot.
Picture the scene, a young seafaring lad is thrust into a position of authority he may or may not be ready for (think Afloat and Ashore by James Fenimore Cooper), and ends up being shanghaied for the expediency of a third party (think The Sea Wolf by Jack London or The Blood Ship by Norman Springer). So while the basis of the plot is far from original, Harry Collingwood still manages to put together a compelling story, sans the obligatory sex and violence that has ruined what otherwise were many a good story.
The hapless youth in this story was one Philip Troubridge, a seventeen-year-old midshipman apprentice who got the opportunity of a nautical lifetime when he was selected to navigate a ship to port that had lost its most critical crew members, including the captain. Should he pull it off, it would be quite the gold star in his resume. That scenario alone would have made quite an interesting story, but that was just the beginning of this adventure for Troubridge. As it turns out, there was to be quite a detour before reaching the port of destination.
I'll just go over a few aspects of the story without making this review a spoiler. Collingwood assails the folly of socialism in this book, using the mad scheme of one of the ships passengers as his platform. The ship that Troubridge was not navigating was full of emigrants, falling under the spell of a smooth talking power monger that painted the picture of cotton candy and unicorns to convince them that socialism was the way, and he was the only one that could get them there. Well, he and young Philip Troubridge, the only one on board who could navigate them to paradise. And not much of a choice he had, being outnumbered and bullied into assisting the scheme-for the time being anyway.
Without being too preachy, Collingwood effectively dismantles socialist ideology, first showing what does not work, in that when paradise was finally found, it was only that for those in charge. You could make that claim about any form of society, but not all make the claim that everything and all will be right. He also uses a quasi-allegorical section of the book where, trapped among islets and channels, the work ethic of every man pulling his weight, although not immediately apparent, finally dawned on me.
But, he doesn't beat it to death. There is a story here, and it was quite entertaining, although, like most sea stories of the period, the nautical terminology was infinitely frustrating. It didn't start out that way, and I thought I was going to be able to get through without the withering sailing terms, but alas, they were on the high seas, and Collingwood made sure you knew it. If you can get past that (and lose a little of the action in the process), then this book is as good as any other sea tale of the period.
Picture the scene, a young seafaring lad is thrust into a position of authority he may or may not be ready for (think Afloat and Ashore by James Fenimore Cooper), and ends up being shanghaied for the expediency of a third party (think The Sea Wolf by Jack London or The Blood Ship by Norman Springer). So while the basis of the plot is far from original, Harry Collingwood still manages to put together a compelling story, sans the obligatory sex and violence that has ruined what otherwise were many a good story.
The hapless youth in this story was one Philip Troubridge, a seventeen-year-old midshipman apprentice who got the opportunity of a nautical lifetime when he was selected to navigate a ship to port that had lost its most critical crew members, including the captain. Should he pull it off, it would be quite the gold star in his resume. That scenario alone would have made quite an interesting story, but that was just the beginning of this adventure for Troubridge. As it turns out, there was to be quite a detour before reaching the port of destination.
I'll just go over a few aspects of the story without making this review a spoiler. Collingwood assails the folly of socialism in this book, using the mad scheme of one of the ships passengers as his platform. The ship that Troubridge was not navigating was full of emigrants, falling under the spell of a smooth talking power monger that painted the picture of cotton candy and unicorns to convince them that socialism was the way, and he was the only one that could get them there. Well, he and young Philip Troubridge, the only one on board who could navigate them to paradise. And not much of a choice he had, being outnumbered and bullied into assisting the scheme-for the time being anyway.
Without being too preachy, Collingwood effectively dismantles socialist ideology, first showing what does not work, in that when paradise was finally found, it was only that for those in charge. You could make that claim about any form of society, but not all make the claim that everything and all will be right. He also uses a quasi-allegorical section of the book where, trapped among islets and channels, the work ethic of every man pulling his weight, although not immediately apparent, finally dawned on me.
But, he doesn't beat it to death. There is a story here, and it was quite entertaining, although, like most sea stories of the period, the nautical terminology was infinitely frustrating. It didn't start out that way, and I thought I was going to be able to get through without the withering sailing terms, but alas, they were on the high seas, and Collingwood made sure you knew it. If you can get past that (and lose a little of the action in the process), then this book is as good as any other sea tale of the period.
August 29, 2024
A tale of seamanship in the age of sail.
Great
piece of historic literature. If you want to know what it was like to sail the ocean with chart and sextant, this is the piece of literature. And as a chief would say this is true and not a lie......
Great
piece of historic literature. If you want to know what it was like to sail the ocean with chart and sextant, this is the piece of literature. And as a chief would say this is true and not a lie......
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews