The Bounty

Viac o knihe

More than two centuries after Fletcher Christian's mutiny against Lieutenant Bligh aboard the Bounty, the details of this adventure remain compelling and vivid. Caroline Alexander revitalizes this historical event by centering her narrative on the court-martial of the ten mutineers captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in England. This fresh perspective breathes new life into the saga, using the colorful language of the captured men to recreate the pivotal moments of April 1789. Christian's breakdown set in motion a fateful journey: Bligh and his loyalists embarked on a historic open boat voyage, revealing Bligh's prowess as a navigator, while Christian faced a restless exile, and the mutineers awaited their trial. Each character emerges fully developed, caught in a drama that could lead to the gallows. Alexander illustrates how one defendant, in a desperate bid to avoid execution, transformed the mutiny into the enduring myth of the tyrannical Bligh. Ultimately, she posits that the Bounty mutiny was ignited by the unpredictable dynamics between strong personalities in close quarters. Her account of the voyage, trial, and the fates of Bligh, Christian, and the mutineers unfolds as an epic tale of ambition, passion, pride, and duty at the dawn of the Romantic era.