Overview
DON'T MISS THE MAJOR FILM INSPIRED BY CHASE'S NARRATIVE, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA On 20 November 1820, just south of the equator, the whaling ship Essex, spotted and pursued a shoal of sperm whales. As the crew started harpooning, the largest whale – some 85 feet long – rammed the Essex twice and 'stove in her bows'. What followed was an epic three-month voyage in open boats across storm-tossed seas. Only eight men survived, sustained by eating those who died. This edition includes Owen Chases’s famous account, as well as memoirs by two other crew members and a facsimile of Herman Melville's notes on Chase’s narrative.
Full Product Details
Author: Owen Chase
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Imprint: Vintage Classics
Dimensions:
Width: 12.90cm
, Height: 1.20cm
, Length: 19.80cm
Weight: 0.133kg
ISBN: 9781784871260
ISBN 10: 1784871265
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 03 December 2015
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
The effect is kaleidoscopic. A vivid portrait emerges of the shipwrecked men's privatations and fundamental moral dilemma: literally to eat or be eaten -- Lawrence Norfolk Chase's book still has an almost Biblical power Mail on Sunday An incredibly vivid journal of survival Scotsman The reading of this wondrous story...had a surprising effect on me -- Herman Melville When I found myself popping the notes I attach to potential quotes to virtually every page, I realised I might as well just deliver a rousing injunction to read the book for yourselves -- Christina Hardyment Independent
The effect is kaleidoscopic. A vivid portrait emerges of the shipwrecked men's privatations and fundamental moral dilemma: literally to eat or be eaten -- Lawrence Norfolk Chase's book still has an almost Biblical power * Mail on Sunday * An incredibly vivid journal of survival * Scotsman * The reading of this wondrous story...had a surprising effect on me -- Herman Melville When I found myself popping the notes I attach to potential quotes to virtually every page, I realised I might as well just deliver a rousing injunction to read the book for yourselves -- Christina Hardyment * Independent *
Author Information
Owen Chase was born in 1797 and worked as a whaler in Nantucket. In November 1820, the whale ship Essex, of which Chase was First Mate, was struck and sunk by a sperm whale. His subsequent account of the three-month-long ordeal that followed was published in 1821 and inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. Afterwards, Chase continued to work as a whaler, embarking on several further expeditions until 1840. Despite many years at sea he married four times during this period. Chase’s latter years were haunted by memories of the disaster and he was eventually institutionalised. He died in 1869.
