“A truly wonderful social history of a tragic and unexplained
shipping disaster. Five Stars.”—Scottish Field The wrecking of
the RMS Tayleur made headlines nearly 60 years before the Titanic.
Both were run by the White Star Line, both were heralded as the most
splendid ships of their time and both sank in tragic circumstances on
their maiden voyages. On 19 January 1854 the Tayleur, a large
merchant vessel, left Liverpool for Australia; packed with hopeful
emigrants, her hold stuffed with cargo. More than a century after the
tragedy, Gill Hoffs reveals new theories behind the disaster and tells
the stories of the passengers and crew on the ill-fated vessel:
Captain John Noble, record breaking hero of the Gold Rush era. Ship
surgeon Robert Hannay Cunningham and his young family, on their way to
a new life among the prospectors of Tent City. Samuel Carby,
ex-convict, returning to the gold fields with his new wife and a
fortune sewn into her corsets. But the ship’s revolutionary iron
hull prevented its compasses from working. Lost in the Irish Sea, a
storm swept the Tayleur and the 650 people aboard towards a cliff,
studded with rocks “black as death.” What happened next shocked
the world. “Hoffs has recounted this awful tragedy with such
description and dedicated research that you can almost imagine
yourself on the deck of this unfortunate vessel . . . An excellent
read.”—Suzie Lennox, author of Bodysnatchers “A little
masterclass in how to hold a reader enthralled by a tale of long-ago
tragedy at sea.”—Diver Net
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781473831896
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Vendor
Pen & Sword
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter