The Unknown Shore
Encyclopedia
The Unknown Shore is a novel
published in 1959
by Patrick O'Brian
. It is the story of two friends, Jack Byron
and Tobias Barrow who sail aboard HMS Wager
as part of Anson
's 1740 expedition. The midshipman
Byron and somewhat unworldly surgeon's mate Barrow are prototypes for Jack Aubrey
and Stephen Maturin who appear in many of O'Brian's later novels
. The novel is a part-fictionalised version of actual events which occurred during the Wager Mutiny
.
, other members of the expedition are featured. They appear in more detail in The Golden Ocean
, another O'Brian novel about the Anson expedition.
The expedition is beset by storms while rounding of Cape Horn
, the Wager is shipwrecked off the coast of Chile
as their position could not be determined. The crew reject the authority of their officers, once the ship was wrecked and leave the captain, some officers and some other crew on the island when they sail away in a boat built from the wreck. The marooned
officers make their way to a Spanish settlement with the help of the native people. The novel is based on the accounts of the survivors. Survivors from the lower deck made their way back to Britain long before the officers. The novel describes the crew members asserting that the officers had no authority over them, once their ship was wrecked.
The lesson of the wreck of the Wager played a role in revising naval discipline, so that officers did retain formal authority over crew members, even when their ships were lost or captured.
novel Desolation Island
where Byron's name comes up. Maturin and Pullings, the first lieutenant, fall into a conversation about Pullings' grandfather who had sailed with Byron, and the wrecks they had gone through together, and the conclusions they had drawn about how a wreck can test men's character. It provides important, painless foreshadowing for the discipline problems that were to arise aboard the Leopard.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
published in 1959
1959 in literature
The year 1959 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April 30 - Theatrical première of Bertolt Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards, originally performed on radio in 1932....
by Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
. It is the story of two friends, Jack Byron
John Byron
Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
and Tobias Barrow who sail aboard HMS Wager
HMS Wager (1739)
HMS Wager was a square-rigged sixth-rate Royal Navy ship of 28 guns. She was built as an East Indiaman in about 1734 and made two voyages to India before being purchased by the Royal Navy in 1739. She formed part of a squadron under Anson and was wrecked on the south coast of Chile on 14 May 1741...
as part of Anson
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
's 1740 expedition. The midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
Byron and somewhat unworldly surgeon's mate Barrow are prototypes for Jack Aubrey
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
and Stephen Maturin who appear in many of O'Brian's later novels
Aubrey–Maturin series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
. The novel is a part-fictionalised version of actual events which occurred during the Wager Mutiny
Wager Mutiny
The Wager Mutiny was the mutiny of the crew of after she was wrecked on a desolate island off the west coast of Chile in 1741 and the subsequent adventures of her crew. The final voyage of Wager was as part of a squadron commanded by George Anson destined to attack Spanish interests in the Pacific...
.
Plot introduction
In reality, John "Jack" Byron was a historical person and the basic facts of the story are true. He went on to a distinguished naval career, rising to the rank of vice-admiral. There is an "easter egg" that O'Brian includes in the novel: his Jack Byron secretly writes poetry. He wants Tobias to refrain from mentioning it to any of his peers. Byron's grandson was the famous poet Lord Byron.Plot summary
In the early part of the novel, set in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, other members of the expedition are featured. They appear in more detail in The Golden Ocean
The Golden Ocean
The Golden Ocean is a novel written by Patrick O'Brian, published in 1956. It tells the story of a novice midshipman, Peter Palafox, who joins Anson's 1740 circumnavigation of the globe...
, another O'Brian novel about the Anson expedition.
The expedition is beset by storms while rounding of Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, the Wager is shipwrecked off the coast of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
as their position could not be determined. The crew reject the authority of their officers, once the ship was wrecked and leave the captain, some officers and some other crew on the island when they sail away in a boat built from the wreck. The marooned
Marooning
Marooning is the intentional leaving of someone in a remote area, such as an uninhabited island. The word appears in writing in approximately 1709, and is derived from the term maroon, a word for a fugitive slave, which could be a corruption of Spanish cimarrón, meaning a household animal who has...
officers make their way to a Spanish settlement with the help of the native people. The novel is based on the accounts of the survivors. Survivors from the lower deck made their way back to Britain long before the officers. The novel describes the crew members asserting that the officers had no authority over them, once their ship was wrecked.
Consequences of the shipwreck
The Wager's crew really did reject the authority of their officers, once the ship was wrecked.The lesson of the wreck of the Wager played a role in revising naval discipline, so that officers did retain formal authority over crew members, even when their ships were lost or captured.
Characters in The Unknown Shore
- Jack ByronJohn ByronVice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
– main protagonist - Tobias Barrow – "Jack's" friend
Allusions/references from other works
There is an important passage in O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin seriesAubrey–Maturin series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
novel Desolation Island
Desolation Island (novel)
Desolation Island is an historical novel by Patrick O'Brian. It is the fifth book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, and is set prior to the War of 1812.-Plot summary:...
where Byron's name comes up. Maturin and Pullings, the first lieutenant, fall into a conversation about Pullings' grandfather who had sailed with Byron, and the wrecks they had gone through together, and the conclusions they had drawn about how a wreck can test men's character. It provides important, painless foreshadowing for the discipline problems that were to arise aboard the Leopard.
See also
- The Golden OceanThe Golden OceanThe Golden Ocean is a novel written by Patrick O'Brian, published in 1956. It tells the story of a novice midshipman, Peter Palafox, who joins Anson's 1740 circumnavigation of the globe...
- another work by Patrick O'Brian, whose two protagonists are young men aboard one of the other vessels on the same expedition as the Wager.