The Caliban Shore: The Fate of the Grosvenor Castaways |
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Stephen Taylor
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Pages: 304 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0571210724
Pub: Faber and Faber
Pub date: 2005-06-02
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3839
Reader Reviews:
Bring a film out on it! (5/5 people found this helpful)
The Grosvenor was one of the finest East Indiamen of her day, but she ran aground on the treacherous coast of south-east Africa. An astonishing number of her crew and passengers, including women and children, reached the shore safely, but the castaways found themselves hundreds of miles from the nearest European outpost - and utterly ignorant of their surroundings and the people among whom they found themselves.
Drawing upon much new research, Stephen Taylor pieces together this extraordinary saga, sifting the myths that became attached to The Grosvenor from a reality that is no less gripping. Taking the reader to the heart of what is now the Wild Coast of Pondoland, he reveals the misunderstandings that led to tragedy, tells the story of those who escaped, and unravels the mystery of those who stayed. An unforgetable story of its time of how the survivors trekked for over 400 miles across the most hostile of lands suffering the most extreme of privations. After many months they reach safety amongst kind hearted dutch settlers...but alas for many it was not to be!
Gripping story, told really well with great detail and a flowing easy to read narrative....great read!
The Caliban Shore (2/6 people found this helpful)
The book is very detailed, in fact I think too detailed. If you just want to read about the actual experience these unfortunate people suffered only read the middle or their abouts of the book. The rest is more akin to a study.
While I admire the effort Stephen Taylor has put into writing this book, does all the detailed back ground about each character really enhance the yarn ?
Fantastic tale of adventure and endurance (30/30 people found this helpful)
The Caliban Shore is one of those extraordinary stories that you comes across rarely, but which makes you marvel at the incredulity of what happened to a disparate band of (predominantly) Brits who were wrecked off the coast of Africa in 1782, hundreds of miles from the nearest Europeans and entirely ignorant of the people or land into which they had inadvertently blundered. As they try and work their way down to the Dutch settlements in the far south they begin to realise that none of them might make it out of this strange land.
Stephen Taylor does an excellent job of piecing together all the fragmentary truths, rumours and myths surrounding the Grosvenor castaways and weaving a fascinating narrative of what the ordeal was like for those who had to endure it. The story throws up many heroes and villains, mysteries and startling truths. It also provides an interesting account of the state of Indian colonial society in the 18th century and the state of the tribes of South Africa at the same time. Definitely well worth a read.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Maritime History
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> True Endurance & Survival
Books -> Special Features -> Bargain Books
Books -> Special Features -> Regular Stores -> Bargains in Books
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)