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Sea Stories |
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By: Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911) | |
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Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic
The sea has always been, by the mystery of its horizon, the fury of its storms, and the variableness of the atmosphere above it, the foreordained land of romance. In all ages and with all sea-going races there has always been something especially fascinating about an island amid the ocean. It's very existence has for all explorers an air of magic. The order of the tales in the present work follows roughly the order of development, giving first the legends which kept near the European shore, and then those which, like St... |
By: Various | |
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Sea Stories
Most of us have passed through a period of life during which we have ardently longed to be, if not actually a rover, a buccaneer, or a pirate, at least and really a sailor! To run away to sea has been the misdirected ambition of many a youngster, and some lads there are who have realized their desire to their sorrow. The boy who has not cherished in his heart and exhibited in his actions at sometime or other during his youthful days, a love of ships and salt water, is fit for—well, he is fit for the shore, and that is the worst thing a sailor could say about him! (From the introduction, by Cyrus Townsend Brady) |
By: A. T. Mahan (1840-1914) | |
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Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812 Volume 1 | |
By: Aaron Smith (?-1862) | |
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The Atrocities of the Pirates
In 1822, Aaron Smith, a young English seaman, was taken captive by Cuban pirates when his ship was boarded en route from Jamaica to England. Forced to work as a navigator and as a member of pirate boarding parties, he witnessed unspeakable acts of murder and torture. Befriended by a young Cuban woman, he managed to escape with his life, but was arrested as a pirate in Havana and sent back to England in chains. There, he found himself on trial for his life at the Old Bailey courthouse—with the attorney general himself leading the prosecution. Smith's dramatic account of his personal experience is a brutally honest, unromanticized [sic] look at piracy in the 19th century. |
By: Albert Kinross (1870-1929) | |
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The Fearsome Island
No ordinary sailor's tale, this. Based allegedly on the real experiences of Silas Fordred, Master Mariner of Hythe, this is a story of shipwreck on an uncharted island and his supernatural adventures there with a witch, a hairy man, and various devilish devices and traps. The author, Kinross, adds an appendix purporting to explain the marvels which Fordred encountered.Kinross claims to have stolen the sailor's original account from Hythe Town Hall while helping the Town Clerk to sort newly discovered old papers... |
By: Alcinous B. (Alcinous Burton) Jamison (1851-) | |
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Intestinal Ills Chronic Constipation, Indigestion, Autogenetic Poisons, Diarrhea, Piles, Etc. Also Auto-Infection, Auto-Intoxication, Anemia, Emaciation, Etc. Due to Proctitis and Colitis |
By: Alexander Mackenzie (1833-1898) | |
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History of the Mackenzies, with genealogies of the principal families of the name |
By: Alexandre Exquemelin (c. 1645-1707) | |
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The Pirates of Panama
This volume was originally written in Dutch by John Esquemeling, and first published in Amsterdam in 1678 under the title of De Americaeneche Zee Roovers. It immediately became very popular and this first hand history of the Buccaneers of America was soon translated into the principal European languages. The first English edition was printed in 1684. Esquemeling served the Buccaneers in the capacity of barber-surgeon, and was present at all their exploits. Little did he suspect that his first hand observations would some day be cherished as the only authentic and true history of the Buccaneers and Marooners of the Spanish Main... |
By: Allan F. (Allan Ferguson) Westcott (1882-) | |
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A History of Sea Power |
By: Annie Hamilton Donnell (1862-) | |
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Judith Lynn A Story of the Sea |
By: Anonymous | |
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Eirik the Red's Saga
In this saga, the events that led to Eirik the Red’s banishment to Greenland are chronicled, as well as Leif Eirikson’s discovery of Vinland the Good (a place where wheat and grapes grew naturally), after his longboat was blown off-course. By geographical details, this place is surmised to be present-day Newfoundland, and is likely the first European discovery of the American mainland, some five centuries before Christopher Columbus’s journey. | |
The Story of the White-Rock Cove |
By: Archibald Makellar | |
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An Investigation into the Nature of Black Phthisis or Ulceration Induced by Carbonaceous Accumulation in the Lungs of Coal Miners |
By: Arthur E. Knights | |
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Notes By the Way in a Sailor's Life |
By: Ben Ames Williams | |
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All the Brothers Were Valiant
Joel Shore, newly appointed captain of the whaling ship Nathan Ross following his brother’s apparent demise as captain of the same ship, elects to make his first cruise as captain to the very location where his brother had last been seen – the Gilbert Islands, in order to try to learn more about what happened to his brother. The focus of this tale is of that voyage halfway around the globe and the adventures which he and his crew encounter. |
By: Bradley A. (Bradley Allen) Fiske (1854-1942) | |
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The Navy as a Fighting Machine |
By: Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) | |
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Marjorie at Seacote |
By: Charles B. Michener (1838-) | |
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Special Report on Diseases of the Horse |
By: Charles Clark Munn (1848-1917) | |
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Pocket Island
Along the coast of Maine are littered thousands of small islands. One such, named 'Pocket Island' by the locals was so called because of a pocket formed twice daily by the waning of the tides. The coast of Maine holds many secrets and legends, and Pocket Island was no exception. Subtitled "A Story of Country Life in New England", this story holds such varied and fascinating glimpses into the lives of a few individuals, and is not limited to merely a story of ghosts, of war, of barn dances, friendship, tales of rum-runners, smugglers, and seafarers... |
By: Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
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Little Dorrit
Originally published in monthly installments between 1855 and 1857, the novel focuses on the various forms of imprisonment, both physical and psychological, while also concentrating on dysfunctional family ties. Accordingly, Dickens avidly criticizes the social deficiencies of the time including injustice, social hypocrisy, the austerity of the Marshalsea debtors’ prison, and bureaucratic inefficiency. The novel kicks off with the introduction of William Dorrit, the oldest prisoner in the Marshalsea prison, who is also referred to as The Father of the Marshalsea... | |
The Wreck of the Golden Mary
A short story of a ship wreck in 1851 trying to round Cape Horn on its way to the California gold fields. Poignant and well written. ( |
By: Charles Ellms | |
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The Pirates Own Book
Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers. |
By: Charles Johnson | |
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A General History of the Pyrates
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates is a 1724 book containing biographies of contemporary pirates. It's author uses the name Captain Charles Johnson, generally considered a pseudonym. The real identity of the author was thought by some scholars to be Daniel Defoe, although this has since been disputed. The publisher Nathaniel Mist or somebody working for him are other suggested authors. In the first volume, "Johnson" sticks fairly close to the available sources, though he embellishes the stories somewhat... |
By: Chevalier Jackson (1865-1958) | |
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Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery |
By: Cornelia Meigs (1884-1973) | |
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Island of Appledore
Any one who knows the coast of New England will know also the Island of Appledore and just where it lies. Such a person can tell you that it is not exactly the place described in this book, that it is small and bare and rocky with no woods, no meadows, no church, or mill, or mill-creek road. Perhaps all that the story tells of it that is true is that there the rocks give forth their strange deep song, “the calling of Appledore,” as warning of a storm, that there the poppies bloom as nowhere else... |
By: Daniel Defoe (1659/1661-1731) | |
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Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children
First published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is a book that marks the beginning of realistic fiction writing in English. Its simple, linear narrative style and the semblance of being a true account and autobiographical in nature led to its great popularity when it first came out. Its original title The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York: Mariner, Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years all alone in an Uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great... | |
The Life, Adventures & Piracies of Captain Singleton
The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton is a "bipartite adventure story whose first half covers a traversal of Africa, and whose second half taps into the contemporary fascination with piracy. It has been commended for its depiction of the homosexual relationship between the eponymous hero and his religious mentor, the Quaker, William Walters.". |
By: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) | |
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Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
Published in 1838, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Poe’s only complete novel and concentrates on several sea adventures gone awry. The novel follows Arthur Gordon Pym, who finds himself in the center of gloomy occurrences on board numerous vessels, as his anticipated sea adventure takes a drastic shift in the wind. Shipwreck, starvation, mutiny, near death experiences and cannibalism are just some of the issues endured in the gripping, and at times gruesome novel. The adventure... |
By: Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) | |
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The Land that Time Forgot
Off the coast of Greenland, a man finds a floating thermos bottle. Wedged tightly inside is a sheaf of papers covered with minute handwriting. As he begins to read, a fantastic tale begins to unwind. The writer, on his way to a WWI battlefield was shipwrecked and his entire regiment except for a woman and his faithful dog are killed. The three are rescued by a passing British tug, but fall prey to the schemes of a German spy aboard. They are then captured by the crew of a German U-boat. After many near mishaps, they sail towards Greenland... |
By: Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) | |
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The Man Without a Country and Other Tales | |
Man Without A Country And Other Tales
Edward Everett Hale (1822 – 1909) was an American author, historian and Unitarian clergyman. Hale first came to notice as a writer in 1859, when he contributed the short story "My Double and How He Undid Me" to the Atlantic Monthly. He soon published other stories in the same periodical. His best known work was "The Man Without a Country", published in the Atlantic in 1863 and intended to strengthen support in the Civil War for the Union cause in the North. Though the story is set in the early 19th century, it is an allegory about the upheaval of the American Civil War... |
By: Edward Howard (-1841) | |
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Rattlin the Reefer |
By: Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) | |
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The Rover Boys on the Ocean
The hearty, all-American Rover Boys sail by yacht to Africa in search of their kidnapped father. |
By: Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) | |
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Moorland Cottage
"Maggie Brown is torn between her mother who constantly tells her to live for her selfish brother (to whom she gives all her love) to her wish to marry Frank and live for herself. Maggie's plight for independence shows the change in women's role, which started to take place during that time. But it also keeps to the tradition of an almost Cinderella story: the pure woman does the best for everyone but herself and is rewarded for that. In addition, this is a very interesting story, written in Gaskell's remarkable style. When you read it, you are transported to another time, and place". |
By: Elizabeth Weston Timlow (1861-1931) | |
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Cricket at the Seashore |
By: Ernest Shackleton | |
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South! The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917
The expedition was given the grand title of The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Due to be launched in 1914, two ships were to be employed. The first, the lead vessel, fittingly named the Endurance was to transport the team to the Weddell Sea from where the great explorer Ernest Shackleton and five others would cross the icy wastes of Antarctica on foot. The second ship, the Aurora was to approach the continent from the other side and put down supplies at various points to help the explorers... |
By: Erskine Childers (1870-1922) | |
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The Riddle of the Sands
Containing many realistic details based on Childers’ own sailing trips along the German North Sea coast, the book is the retelling of a yachting expedition in the early 20th century combined with an adventurous spy story. It was one of the early invasion novels which predicted war with Germany and called for British preparedness. The plot involves the uncovering of secret German preparations for an invasion of the United Kingdom. It is often called the first modern spy novel, although others are as well, it was certainly very influential in the genre and for its time... |
By: Eugène Sue (1804-1857) | |
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A Romance of the West Indies |
By: F. Hamilton Jackson (1848-1923) | |
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The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia |
By: F. Marion Crawford | |
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Man Overboard
Peculiar happenings aboard the schooner Helen B. Jackson when one night during a storm, the small crew found themselves diminished by one. Somebody had gone overboard, and it was surmised that it was one of the twin Benton brothers. But oddly enough, it seemed that the ‘presence’ of the missing twin continued to exist on board during the following weeks. For example, one extra set of silverware was found to be used after each meal, but nobody claimed to be using them. What then did happen that stormy night, and which brother, if indeed it was one of the brothers, was the man who went overboard? |
By: Fannie E. (Fannie Ellsworth) Newberry (1848-1942) | |
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All Aboard A Story for Girls |
By: Frank Norris (1870-1902) | |
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Moran of the Lady Letty |
By: Frank Richard Stockton (1834-1902) | |
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A Jolly Fellowship |
By: Frank T. Bullen (1857-1915) | |
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The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales |
By: Frank V. Webster | |
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Bob the Castaway
Frank V Webster was a pseudonym controlled by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the first book packager of books aimed at children. This pseudonym was used on books for boys from the early 1900s through the 1930s.Bob the Castaway follows the antics of young prankster Bob Henderson, his parents futile attempts to get him to mend his ways, and his subsequent nautical adventures. (Introduction by Nigel Boydell) | |
Darry the Life Saver Or, The Heroes of the Coast |
By: Franz Edelsheim (1868-) | |
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Operations Upon the Sea A Study |
By: Frederick Brückbauer (1864-) | |
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The Kirk on Rutgers Farm |
By: Frederick Ferdinand Moore (1877-) | |
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Isle o' Dreams | |
The Devil's Admiral |
By: Frederick Marryat (1792-1848) | |
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Mr. Midshipman Easy
One of the first novel-length pieces of nautical fiction, MR. MIDSHIPMAN EASY (1836) is a funny and easygoing account of the adventures of Jack Easy, a son of privilege who joins the Royal Navy. The work begins as a satire on Jack’s attachment to “the rights of man” that may try the listener’s patience. But despair not, for the story soon settles down as the philosophical midshipman begins his many triumphs over bullies, foul weather, and various damned foreigners of murderous intent.Caveat audiens: This novel employs racial/ethnic epithets and religious stereotypes, as well as taking a rather sunny view of supply-side economics... | |
The Phantom Ship | |
The Phantom Ship | |
The Privateersman | |
Jacob Faithful
Rebelling against the career chosen for him by his wealthy family, Frederic Marryat joined the Royal Navy in 1806 at the age of 14. He first served as a midshipman in the 38-gun frigate "HMS Imperieuse" commanded by Lord Cochran, 10th Earl of Dundonald whose real life exploits were used by Marryat in his fiction and which formed the basis for other famous fictional characters like Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey. Having survived more than 50 sea battles and attained the rank of Post Captain, he resigned from the Navy and devoted the rest of his life to writing, drawing a good deal on his distinguished career in the Navy and is now considered the Father of Modern Nautical Fiction... | |
Poor Jack | |
Poor Jack | |
Frank Mildmay Or, the Naval Officer | |
Snarleyyow
This is a quite amusing nautical tale of the British Navy of the around the year 1700. While, as with much early 'humor', it is somewhat heavy-handed, the sympathies of the author are clear and good, and cruelty is often averted by good fortune or background characters. First published under the title 'The Dog Fiend', the primary characters are an evil captain of a cutter and his dog. The dog seems indestructible, as is the poor cabin boy who is the butt of the captain's ill humor, and who often is chewed on by the dog... | |
The Three Cutters | |
Newton Forster The Merchant Service | |
Peter Simple; and, The Three Cutters, Vol. 1-2 | |
The Privateer's-Man One hundred Years Ago | |
Naval Officer, or Scenes in the Life and Adventures of Frank Mildmay
Marryat was a midshipman under Captain Cochrane and this, his first naval adventure, is considered to be a highly autobiographical telling of his adventures with one of Britain's most famous and daring naval captains. | |
Newton Forster | |
Snarleyyow or The Dog Fiend |
By: Frederick Thomas Jane (1865-1916) | |
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Blake of the "Rattlesnake"
Fred Jane, who later went on to publish his famous "Jane's Fighting Ships", doubtless was noting the success of other books that forecast a British defeat in the event of war in the late 19th century when he wrote this fictional account of "The Man Who Saved England." Jane tells of a possible war against both France and Russia with plenty of verve and derring-do amid naval battles, both small and large. - Summary by Mark |
By: G. E. Mitton | |
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Chelsea The Fascination of London |
By: G. R. (Geraldine Robertson) Glasgow | |
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Troublesome Comforts A Story for Children |
By: George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) | |
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Under Drake's Flag: A Tale Of The Spanish Main
An exciting tale set on the high seas, in a period ruled by exploration, with the ever-present dangers of nature and the weather, together with pirates of the famed Spanish Main. |
By: George Cupples (1839-1898) | |
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Bluff Crag, or, A Good Word Costs Nothing |
By: George Gibbs (1870-1942) | |
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In Search of Mademoiselle
Preface note by George Gibbs: There were no more vivid episodes in the colonization of the New World than those resulting from the attempts of the French people to gain a permanent foothold on our shores.... The most thrilling chapter in all this history, strangely neglected or overlooked by the romantic writers, is that of the struggle between the Spanish and French colonists for dominion over our own land of Florida. To me, whose profession it is to see pictures in the words of other men and... |
By: George Hamilton | |
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Voyage Round the World in His Majesty's Frigate Pandora
George Hamilton was the surgeon assigned to the frigate Pandora. The British Admiralty ordered the ship to the Pacific to arrest the Bounty mutineers and bring them back to England for trial. The commander, Captain Edward Edwards, also was ordered to chart the passage between Australia and New Guinea. While Edwards managed to arrest the mutineers still on Tahiti, he sank the Pandora on a reef near Australia. Hamilton tells this story and also the story of the crew’s fate after the Pandora sank. |
By: George Harvey Ralphson (1879-1940) | |
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Boy Scouts in Southern Waters Or, Spaniard's Treasure Chest |
By: George Manville Fenn (1831-1909) | |
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Blue Jackets The Log of the Teaser | |
The Little Skipper A Son of a Sailor | |
Sail Ho! A Boy at Sea | |
Nic Revel A White Slave's Adventures in Alligator Land | |
Cutlass and Cudgel
Based around the crew of cutter HMS White Hawk, this is a tale of smuggling in the early 19th century off the coast of Wessex. The midshipman of the cutter is taken hostage by the smugglers and is befriended by a farm-boy, son of one of the smugglers. His friendship is rudely rebuffed, the midshipman eventually escapes and the farm-boy gets his long-held dream of becoming a seaman on an Excise vessel. | |
King o' the Beach A Tropic Tale | |
Hunting the Skipper The Cruise of the "Seafowl" Sloop | |
Middy and Ensign | |
Mother Carey's Chicken Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle | |
In the King's Name The Cruise of the "Kestrel" | |
Syd Belton The Boy who would not go to Sea | |
The Lost Middy Being the Secret of the Smugglers' Gap |
By: George-Günther Freiherr von Forstner (1882-1940) | |
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The Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner
The Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner is a graphic account of WWI submarine warfare. Forstner was the commander of German U-boat U-28. His journal, first published 1916, gives a gritty picture of daily life inside a submarine and details several torpedo attacks on Allied shipping. The 1917 translation of Forstner’s journal into English was unquestionably intended to bolster the Allied war effort. In the foreword, the translator states: “Nothing at the present day has aroused such fear as this invisible enemy, nor has anything outraged the civilized world like the tragedies caused by the German submarines... |
By: Gordon Stables (1840-1910) | |
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As We Sweep Through The Deep |
By: H. De Vere Stacpoole (1863-1951) | |
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The Blue Lagoon
Two shipwrecked children grow up on a South Pacific island. This beautiful story of adventure and innocent love was H.D. Stacpoole’s most popular work.Parents who may have seen the Hollywood film need not be anxious about the book's suitability for kids -- the author's treatment of adolescent sexuality is almost mystical and very mild. The story of The Blue Lagoon (1908) continues in The Garden of God (1923) and The Gates of Morning (1925). A ship’s doctor, Henry De Vere Stacpoole (1863–1951) published over 90 works of fiction, poetry, autobiography, and translation. | |
Beach of Dreams
Two sailors, Harbutt and Raft, discuss their plight as workers under the thumb of a wealthy owner. During a windstorm, Raft and his fellow hands must climb a mast of the three-master to control a rigging gone astray. Once they master that runaway rigging, they pause to watch another vessel in the distance. It's a ship many have seen before. We are introduced to the occupants of this new ship, the Gaston de Paris. The owner is Prince Selm, who loves the finest things in life, yet is drawn to the sea... |
By: Hannah Jane Locker-Lampson | |
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What the Blackbird said A story in four chirps |
By: Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) | |
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The Pearl of Orr's Island
Go on a journey to the coast of Maine and immerse yourself in the picturesque community on Orr’s Island. See the raindrops glistening on the pine needles and hear the waves crashing on the rocks. This is a tale of romance, tragedy, crusty sea captains, an impetuous boy, a loving girl, complete with village gossips and twists in the plot. |
By: Harriet T. Comstock (1860-1925) | |
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Janet of the Dunes
Known primarily for her children's books, Harriet T. Comstock would occasionally depart from that genre and showcase her writing talent in adult prose as well. Janet of the Dunes is one such departure wherein she masterfully takes us into the lives of the bold men and women who tended those life saving stations along the seaboard which many a ship relied upon for their safety. They were simple people, large of heart and as close-knit as a tiny community can and must ever be, and they, above all else, took their duties very seriously... |
By: Harry Collingwood (1851-1922) | |
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For Treasure Bound
For Treasure Bound is one of the earlier novels by Harry Collingwood (William Joseph Cosens Lancaster), published in 1897. We follow the hero, whose name is incidentally also Harry Collingwood, on a quest to the pacific islands for treasure and his marooned father, through all the perils he encounters on his journey, such as pirates, sea monsters, and beautiful young ladies. (Summary by Carolin) | |
A Pirate of the Caribbees | |
Across the Spanish Main A Tale of the Sea in the Days of Queen Bess | |
The Rover's Secret A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba | |
The Log of the Flying Fish A Story of Aerial and Submarine Peril and Adventure | |
The Pirate Slaver A Story of the West African Coast | |
The Castaways |