Customer Reviews

A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare'sThe Tempest

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In 1609 the English ship "Sea Venture," flagship of a relief fleet for the Jamestown colony in Virginia, was caught in a violent hurricane and wrecked on the Bermuda coast, miraculously with no loss of life. Much to the voyagers' surprise, the ill-reputed island provided them a comfortable existence, with abundant wood, water, fish, and food for almost a year; eventually they built two new ships and completed the voyage to Jamestown.

This true story, widely thought to form the basis for Shakespeare's play "The Tempest," was retold by several authors in 2009, the 400th anniversary of the voyage, including well-received books by Glover & Smith, and Caleb Johnson. The book reviewed here, Hobson Woodward's "A Brave Vessel," focuses attention on William Strachey, the expedition's secretary, whose account of the voyage eventually made its way back to England, and probably came to Shakespeare's notice at that time. The majority of Woodward's book, though, is about the expedition itself, and related events in Jamestown; it is only the final chapter or two that compare Strachey's factual account to Shakespeare's imaginative play. These chapters are inspired by the research of other scholars, that Woodward has summarized into a popular and readable account. The book includes substantial endnotes and bibliography.

Woodward's straightforward writing, and the interest of the voyage both in real-life adventure and the literary gold that Shakespeare mined from it, make this book a pleasant addition to the story of Jamestown.

This book is very exciting, and wonderfully written about a most important beginning of "The New World", and marvelous coincidences with Shakespeare, and other areas (i.e. Bermuda, ingenuity, forming laws and governments, etc.). It was especially intriguing to me because two of the settlers on the "Seaventure" are my ancestors (cousins to each other). Jamestown, Va., 1609, provides the goal for the "Seaventure".

"A Brave Vessel" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Woodward's book interview ran here as the cover feature on April 9, 2010.

This was a birthday gift for my husband. Ihaven't read it yet. He thinks it is a wonderful story, and is recommending it to everyone!