The Bounty Mutiny

The names William Bligh, Fletcher Christian, and the Bounty have excited the popular imagination for more than two hundred years. The story of this famous mutiny has many beginnings and many endings but they all intersect on an April morning in 1789 near the island known today as Tonga. That morning, William Bligh and eighteen surly seamen were expelled from the Bounty and began what would be the greatest open-boat voyage in history, sailing some 4,000 miles to safety in Timor. The mutineers led by Fletcher Christian sailed off into a mystery that has never been entirely resolved. While the full story of what drove the men to revolt or what really transpired during the struggle may never be known, Penguin Classics has brought together-for the first time in one volume-all the relevant texts and documents related to a drama that has fascinated generations. Here is the full text of Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny, the minutes of the court proceedings gathered by Edward Christian in an effort to clear his brother's name, and the highly polemic correspondence between Bligh and Christian-all amplified by Robert Madison's illuminating Introduction and rich selection of subsequent Bountynarratives.… (more)

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LibraryThing member nosajeel

A great collection of original documents about the Mutiny on the Bounty. Together they tell as good a sea yarn as any novel, complete with a Rashomon-like quality as two parties to the mutiny see everything in precisely opposite ways -- while agreeing on fragments of key details. There is some

repetition, especially in some of the transcripts from the trial and testimonial letters on the character of Captain Bligh. This repetition, however, contributes to an almost biblical quality to the text as it lists names after names, retells the same story from different perspectives, and compiles narratives with more straightforward information.

Specifically, the items included in this volume are:

--Captain's Bligh's account of the mutiny and his 4,000 mile journey to safety in a long boat following it. Told in precise nautical terms -- dwelling less on the mutiny and more on how he survived following it and what he discovered in the process.

--A partial transcript of the court martial of the mutineers compiled with an appendix by Edward Christian, brother of the chief mutineer Fletcher Christian. This is intended to be largely exculpatory for his brother, arguing the Bligh was a borderline-psychotic taskmaster.

--A reply to the Appendix by Bligh and a short reply-to-the-reply by Christian.

--Captain's Bligh's orders and discoveries.

--An account of a mutineer captured on Tahiti and his transport back to England.

--Two news accounts of the discovery of the last surviving mutineer on Pitcairn Island in the Pacific.

--An account by "Jenny," who lived on Pitcairn Island.

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LibraryThing member untraveller

Original documents from the Bounty trial & debacle. I had read many of these before, but they are good to have all in one volume, most especially because they are placed in chronological order so it becomes easy to see how thought developed regarding the mutiny. I was unaware, completely unaware,

that the John Adams story was originally published in Beechey's narrative or, at least, the most complete version of it. Another reason to find an original copy!
Good stuff and a must read for anyone interested intravel, adventure, history, naval history, South Pacific, etc. Finished reading 5 April 2015, Easter Day, east of Falmouth England.

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