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Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant
It’s 1866 and the three-masted sailing ship General Grant is on the southern route from Melbourne to London, with gold from the diggings secreted in returning miners’ hems and pockets. In the fog and the dark, the ship strikes the cliffs of the Auckland Islands, is sucked into a cave and wrecked.
Only fourteen men make it ashore and one woman – Mrs Jewell. Stuck on a freezing and exposed island, the castaways have to work together to stay alive, but they’re a disparate group with their own secrets to keep and their only officer is disabled by grief after losing his wife in the wreck. A woman is a burden they don’t need.
Meanwhile stories about the gold grow with the who has it, where is it and how much went down with the ship.
From the author of the bestselling Jerningham, Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant is a vivid imagining of the story behind the enduring mystery of one of New Zealand’s early shipwrecks.
Only fourteen men make it ashore and one woman – Mrs Jewell. Stuck on a freezing and exposed island, the castaways have to work together to stay alive, but they’re a disparate group with their own secrets to keep and their only officer is disabled by grief after losing his wife in the wreck. A woman is a burden they don’t need.
Meanwhile stories about the gold grow with the who has it, where is it and how much went down with the ship.
From the author of the bestselling Jerningham, Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant is a vivid imagining of the story behind the enduring mystery of one of New Zealand’s early shipwrecks.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2022
7 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Cristina Sanders
5 books10 followersCristina Sanders is an historical novelist, book reviewer and trail runner who grew up in Wellington and now lives in Hawke’s Bay.
She is a volunteer crew member for the Spirit of Adventure Trust, and a board member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.
She is a volunteer crew member for the Spirit of Adventure Trust, and a board member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 19, 2023
This is a classic, old-school shipwreck narrative that could also double as a how-to-cook with seal blubber manual.
Based on the true story of the wreck of the General Grant, which occurred in 1866 along the perilous coast of the sub-antarctic Auckland islands. Mrs Jewell was the only female survivor of a group of 15 that made it ashore and had to subsist for nearly 18 months under very inhospitable circumstances.
There is no doubt this is quite the tale and I enjoyed the imaginative flourishes the author brings to the known facts. The description of the sinking is shocking and quite vivid but I don't know if there was quite enough story here to keep me fully engaged. It's pages/months of clubbing seals and plaiting rope and general moping about the island pining about lost gold. It's hard to maintain much in the way of dramatic tension when you know a rescue ship is coming eventually.
A good story, well told but lacking some magical spark that I would be looking for in my Ockham winner ;)
Based on the true story of the wreck of the General Grant, which occurred in 1866 along the perilous coast of the sub-antarctic Auckland islands. Mrs Jewell was the only female survivor of a group of 15 that made it ashore and had to subsist for nearly 18 months under very inhospitable circumstances.
There is no doubt this is quite the tale and I enjoyed the imaginative flourishes the author brings to the known facts. The description of the sinking is shocking and quite vivid but I don't know if there was quite enough story here to keep me fully engaged. It's pages/months of clubbing seals and plaiting rope and general moping about the island pining about lost gold. It's hard to maintain much in the way of dramatic tension when you know a rescue ship is coming eventually.
A good story, well told but lacking some magical spark that I would be looking for in my Ockham winner ;)
April 21, 2023
I am going through a period of intense fascination with stories of survival in inhospitable environments, so this was very-much-for-me. Mrs Jewell is the lone female survivor of the shipwreck of the General Grant in the Auckland Islands, and this is the story of how she and her fourteen male companions struggle to survive. Lots of talk of clubbing seals and of diarrhea, but despite this, I was captivated by this story of human (and female!) resilience and the depictions of the beautiful, harsh landscape (although probably more harsh and less beautiful if you happen to be a castaway in said landscape).
July 7, 2022
Summary: This book is fantastic.
Now, I don’t often read fiction. I almost have to force myself to achieve a quota of 10% fiction. But, based on the cover and the historical premise, I picked it up – started it – and began an epic journey, pausing only a couple of times at the scary parts or when my eyes were just too tired.
But even after my eyes shut my mind was racing around, grasping at what had just happened and wondering where things would go next – and when the scary bits would surface – because I knew there would be scary bits. Not scary as in horror frightening but more scary as in Greek tragedy because you knew there would need to be a resolution and you knew there could be no good outcome. This is why I don’t ride roller-coasters. It’s not so much the destination but the journey.
Mrs Jewell is based on the tragic wrecking of the sailing ship The General Grant on the Auckland Islands (which are no where near Auckland). But more than the shipwreck itself, which is told with such clarity that you’re going to turn up your heater you’ll be so cold, it’s about Victorian values of chivalry (because there was one woman survivor – Mrs Jewel), lust (for gold and flesh), and survival in all its measures. And is it still PTSD while you’re actually still living in the trauma?
Read the book. Available from your local bookseller in New Zealand or direct from the Publisher The Cuba Press. Just a fantastic book.
https://thecubapress.nz/shop/mrs-jewell/
Now, I don’t often read fiction. I almost have to force myself to achieve a quota of 10% fiction. But, based on the cover and the historical premise, I picked it up – started it – and began an epic journey, pausing only a couple of times at the scary parts or when my eyes were just too tired.
But even after my eyes shut my mind was racing around, grasping at what had just happened and wondering where things would go next – and when the scary bits would surface – because I knew there would be scary bits. Not scary as in horror frightening but more scary as in Greek tragedy because you knew there would need to be a resolution and you knew there could be no good outcome. This is why I don’t ride roller-coasters. It’s not so much the destination but the journey.
Mrs Jewell is based on the tragic wrecking of the sailing ship The General Grant on the Auckland Islands (which are no where near Auckland). But more than the shipwreck itself, which is told with such clarity that you’re going to turn up your heater you’ll be so cold, it’s about Victorian values of chivalry (because there was one woman survivor – Mrs Jewel), lust (for gold and flesh), and survival in all its measures. And is it still PTSD while you’re actually still living in the trauma?
Read the book. Available from your local bookseller in New Zealand or direct from the Publisher The Cuba Press. Just a fantastic book.
https://thecubapress.nz/shop/mrs-jewell/
April 17, 2024
This is absolutely top-tier historical fiction. Based on the real survivors of a ship wreck at the Auckland Islands in the middle of the ocean, far south of New Zealand.
Sanders has a great writing style and attention to detail. You really felt like you were there on the islands with Mrs Jewell and the other men. I particularly like that she had enough plot to keep the story moving along but also managed to capture the mundanity of trying to survive on an island where you filled your days trying to find food and keep warm and hope for rescue. With the added context of it being the 1860s with one woman trying to live amongst a group of men with all the weight of societal expectations around that.
Can't rate this highly enough. Will definitely check out more of her work in future.
Sanders has a great writing style and attention to detail. You really felt like you were there on the islands with Mrs Jewell and the other men. I particularly like that she had enough plot to keep the story moving along but also managed to capture the mundanity of trying to survive on an island where you filled your days trying to find food and keep warm and hope for rescue. With the added context of it being the 1860s with one woman trying to live amongst a group of men with all the weight of societal expectations around that.
Can't rate this highly enough. Will definitely check out more of her work in future.
October 31, 2022
The General Grant, was en route from Melbourne to London when it struck the cliffs of the subantarctic Auckland Islands and was sucked into a cave and wrecked. Some of the passengers were successful gold miners returning home with gold sewn into the hems and pockets of their clothes and the ship also carried 2,576 ounces of gold, and 9 tons of zinc spelter ballast. Of the 83 passengers and crew, only fourteen men and one woman – Mrs Jewell – made it ashore.
Mary Ann Jewell is barely mentioned in the survivors’ accounts (including one by her husband, Joseph) so this fictionalised novel imagines the ordeal from a woman’s point of view in a vivid and plausible story. It opens with Mary’s gripping account of the shipwreck – the author has experience crewing on the tall ship Spirit of New Zealand – and it is truly terrifying. But the tension doesn’t let up once the castaways reach bleak and bitterly cold shore. A fire would be crucial to their survival but they are down to their last match:
He struck it with a steady hand. The flame leapt, a delicate orange orb. It shifted to a patch of moss and hesitated, felling its way around a twig, hissing over a leaf, not alive or dead. We waited for the intake of breath. A gasp of air from below and the orange burned darker. It ran along a strip of dry grass. I stood up in the circle of men and we willed the wood to catch, each of us praying, making promises to God of faithfulness and obedience if only the sticks would catch, if only we could have this fire, this most basic comfort.
When at last the fire catches: It was like a birth, another living thing among us. Without it I’m sure I would have died that night.
It was the Irishman, James Teer, who kept the survivors alive with grit and brute strength and the shifting allegiances between the survivors makes for a rollicking read. In an interview, Cristina Sanders says:
I absolutely agree!
Mary Ann Jewell is barely mentioned in the survivors’ accounts (including one by her husband, Joseph) so this fictionalised novel imagines the ordeal from a woman’s point of view in a vivid and plausible story. It opens with Mary’s gripping account of the shipwreck – the author has experience crewing on the tall ship Spirit of New Zealand – and it is truly terrifying. But the tension doesn’t let up once the castaways reach bleak and bitterly cold shore. A fire would be crucial to their survival but they are down to their last match:
He struck it with a steady hand. The flame leapt, a delicate orange orb. It shifted to a patch of moss and hesitated, felling its way around a twig, hissing over a leaf, not alive or dead. We waited for the intake of breath. A gasp of air from below and the orange burned darker. It ran along a strip of dry grass. I stood up in the circle of men and we willed the wood to catch, each of us praying, making promises to God of faithfulness and obedience if only the sticks would catch, if only we could have this fire, this most basic comfort.
When at last the fire catches: It was like a birth, another living thing among us. Without it I’m sure I would have died that night.
It was the Irishman, James Teer, who kept the survivors alive with grit and brute strength and the shifting allegiances between the survivors makes for a rollicking read. In an interview, Cristina Sanders says:
The General Grant is a better adventure story than you could possibly make up: shipwreck and treasure, castaways, trauma, desolation, heroism, survival. It’s Treasure Island, Lord of the Flies, Titanic and Castaway rolled into one.
I absolutely agree!
Read
May 9, 2023This is a classic case of not judging a book by it’s cover. Having read the other three 2023 Ockham finalists, and hearing a great review, I thought I had better read this book even though I thought the title sounded silly, and the cover was unappealing. That’s where my aversions ended. It’s so beautifully written that, at times, I read out aloud. It would make a wonderful audio if not already. I hadn’t realise “Mrs Jewell” was a real person so now understand the author can’t be admonished for creating a silly name. I’m also now glad she kept the name as am so grateful that authors like Cristina Sanders are creating stories that, even though fiction, write women back into history. Social significance aside, I loved the story. A fan of character led fiction, these characters were brought to life for me. Mary and Joseph (it would be ridiculous if not for the fact these were their names), and their relationship at the heart of the novel felt genuine, as did the hero Teer and villain Scott. I’m left wanting more. What happened to the Jewel’s after the rescue? Is their another story there? Probably not, but was so invested in them, it was sad to say goodbye. Great read.
January 3, 2023
Couldn’t put this one down!
Heartbreaking, inspiring, thrilling… I couldn’t put this down. Skillfully, Sanders pulls you into the world of one woman’s experiences after a shipwreck with her new husband and a few survivors. Through their day-to-day hard scrabble practical existence on the deserted island to their efforts to remain a working unit, I felt like I was there because of Sanders’ knowledge and research. Recommended!
Heartbreaking, inspiring, thrilling… I couldn’t put this down. Skillfully, Sanders pulls you into the world of one woman’s experiences after a shipwreck with her new husband and a few survivors. Through their day-to-day hard scrabble practical existence on the deserted island to their efforts to remain a working unit, I felt like I was there because of Sanders’ knowledge and research. Recommended!
February 8, 2024
Could not finish this book! For me, the pacing was off, it didn’t have enough tension to keep me interested and I did not believe some of the story lines.
There’s only so much I can read about slaughtering and surviving off seals :(
There’s only so much I can read about slaughtering and surviving off seals :(
September 20, 2022
Unrelenting misery. And revolting food. Which is probably a pretty fair reflection of what the real-life experience was like.
August 23, 2023
A depressing story of the people who survived the sinking of the General Grant on the Auckland Islands over 400 km south of NZ. Most of the passengers were carrying so much gold sewn into their clothing that they quickly drowned. The author constructed the story from whatever records she could find but basically it was about the deprivation of food, shelter and survival tools plus a lot of bickering between the men. Her husband became depressed by the thought of how many people had drowned that he should have been able to rescue and one man made continuous unwanted advances toward Mary Jewel. A few highlights but mainly clubbing seals while wet, cold and hungry!
August 16, 2023
What a stunning accomplishment. An extraordinary imagining of how life played out on the Auckland Islands for the survivors of the shipwreck General Grant. This meticulously researched story is a moving, sensitive exploration into the survival of the 15 who made their way to shore where they were cast away for 18 months. As the sole woman among men, Mary Jewell’s portrayal, her shifting allegiances, the manifestation of her despair, is handled with absolute writerly prowess and the lightest touch. Bravo, Cristina Sanders on an extraordinary work of art. I LOVED it.
September 9, 2024
I couldn't put it down! I picked it up as prep for an author event with Sanders, and it was such a rollicking tale that I read it in two nights. The writing is fantastic, I felt in good hands at all times, and I love how the author imagined the terror and stress of being the only woman shipwrecked with all those men. She could have taken it in the obvious direction, but chose something far more nuanced. Off to buy a copy of Sanders' next book, Ōkiwi Brown!
October 1, 2024
There are a number of good writers from New Zealand, and most are slowly getting international recognition. This tale of misery deprivation, love, and courage is an excellent read. 14 men and one woman are wrecked on an isolated island south of Aotearoa. Months later, years, most are still alive when a whaler happens by.
What happens in between the wreck and their rescue is a superbly written tale of survival.
What happens in between the wreck and their rescue is a superbly written tale of survival.
April 7, 2023
Great book. The writing is very confident and knows what it is trying to achieve. The story felt true to the period and gave me a glimpse of what it would have been like to be a woman stranded in such a situation. I don’t think the book will have a lasting effect on me but not all books need to. I’m glad I picked this up.
September 25, 2022
A fabulous idea for a story and fabulously written.
I imagine there was a huge amount of research that went into it, but it never feels as if there's info being dumped. It is first and foremost a tightly written, page turning, story.
I imagine there was a huge amount of research that went into it, but it never feels as if there's info being dumped. It is first and foremost a tightly written, page turning, story.
April 24, 2023
Being a woman sucks but being a women stranded on a deserted island in 1866 REALLY sucks.
If you’re a fan of 19th century literature, i.e Jane Austin, you’ll like this book. But not for the faint-hearted! She’s long and sad.
If you’re a fan of 19th century literature, i.e Jane Austin, you’ll like this book. But not for the faint-hearted! She’s long and sad.
October 5, 2023
3.5 interesting novel based on an actual shipwreck in 1866. The General Grant struck the cliffs of the Auckland Islands. One woman and 14 men survived. Their desperate situation all the more difficult as very little was salvaged from the ship.
September 25, 2024
A gripping tale throughout. Sanders has put more than flesh on these characters, there is a keen intelligence and humanity to them. I was struck with her descriptive language and in awe of Mrs Jewell's inner landscapes.
January 6, 2026
this book was lovely. the beginning was intriguing but the middle to the end of the book was a real page turner with more depth than i expected. i cried a good bit during the end. lovely book and super interesting historical novel based on true events! there were so many male characters tho who’s names i could not keep up with
December 27, 2022
I like shipwreck stories based on fact. This was excellent.
March 7, 2023
4.5. Loves it. V interesting, highly readable, gobbled it.
April 10, 2023
An unusual and well-researched work of historical fiction...and a thoroughly good read. The author brings her central character to life even on a bleak and desolate island.
July 18, 2023
Must confess, I didn't finish this .... It didn't really engage me, and ... terrible confession, I so disliked the cover it really put me off. Very petty I admit.
July 25, 2023
An endearing, fascinating story based on a true shipwreck tale. Lags a little in the middle and I got a bit frustrated with the main character but still, a good read. 3.5-4
August 24, 2023
Based on fact great story
March 2, 2024
I've nothing but respect for this book and its origin and implementation - unfortunately, as a concept, it's just not that interesting.
August 12, 2024
This was brilliant. Didn’t know I liked historical fiction. Loved the female perspective.
September 18, 2024
Loved it
October 3, 2025
Book club,
Shipwreck
Shipwreck
May 4, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews