Description
"At once a penetrating work of literary analysis and a riveting historical narrative." -Nathaniel Philbrick Merging maritime adventure and early colonial history, A Brave Vessel charts a little-known chapter of the past that offers a window on the inspiration for one of Shakespeare's greatest works. In 1609, aspiring writer William Strachey set sail for the New World aboard the Sea Venture, only to wreck on the shores of Bermuda. Strachey's meticulous account of the tragedy, the castaways' time in Bermuda, and their arrival in a devastated Jamestown, remains among the most vivid writings of the early colonial period. Though Strachey had literary aspirations, only in the hands of another William would his tale make history as The Tempest-a fascinating connection across time and literature that Hobson Woodward brings vividly to life.
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In 1609, aspiring writer William Strachey set sail aboard the Sea Venture, bound for the New World. Caught in a hurricane, the ship separated from its fleet and wrecked on uninhabited Bermuda, a bountiful island paradise its passengers would inhabit for nearly a year before reaching their intended destination, the famine-stricken colony of Jamestown. Following the life of this ordinary man and the extraordinary account he left of his odyssey, Hobson Woodward tells one of the neglected but defining stories of America's founding---and exposes it as the real-life inspiration for The Tempest, one of William Shakespeare's enduring masterpieces."Well-written and expertly paced. Fascinating fodder for the committed Shakespearean source hunter."---Publishers Weekly"Skillfully written history."---Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Learned, lucid, and engrossing."---Alden Vaughan, Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University and coeditor of the Arden edition of The Tempest
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