Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel [Paperback]

Charles Nordhoff (Author), James Norman Hall (Author)

Book Description

Series: Back Bay Books | Publication Date: April 11, 1989

Cherished as one of the most thrilling sea adventures ever recorded, Mutiny on the Bounty has sold millions of copies and enthralled generations of readers around the world in the seven decades since its initial publication. The novel reprises a true story-the strange, eventful, and tragic voyage of His Majesty's Ship Bounty in 1788-1789, which culminated in Fletcher Christian's mutiny against Captain Bligh-and reaches peaks of narrative excitement that mark the book indelibly as a modern classic.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall (1887­1951), who served together as U.S. Air Service pilots in World War I, had a highly successful literary partnership that lasted nearly 30 years and produced several worldwide bestsellers. They are best known for their high-seas adventure Bounty trilogy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; First Edition edition (April 11, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316611689
• ISBN-13: 978-0316611688
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A splendid masterpiece of men who went to sea., June 19, 2002

By 

Leonard L. Wilson (Springfield, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel (Paperback)

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is one of the greatest novels of the sea, of the 18th century sailing ships and the men who sailed them. But it is far more than a sea story or an adventure story. It is a splendid examination of the abuse of power and of the necessity for society to maintain support for authority, no matter how greatly that authority may at times by misused.

Different people tend to view the novel from faulty subjective viewpoints. Some see Capt. Bligh as a gross tyrant who got exactly what he deserved. But at no time does the narrator of the story attempt to justify the mutiny. Others see Fletcher Christian as a romantic hero, but the narrator makes it abundantly clear that his actions in seizing the ship and endangering the entire crew were misguided, to say the least. Always there is a sound balance and a mature evaluation of the actions of all characters, including the officers of the naval court who try those accused of the mutiny.

The novel also presents a beautiful balance of scenes, from the harsh punishments on board the Bounty to the idyllic interlude of life in Tahiti to the appalling existence of prisoners chained hand and foot for months at a time, and from the depths of despair at a sentence of death by hanging to the dazzling strangeness of sudden freedom. Whether it is description of scene or action or feeling, the authors capture the essence of every element of the story with perfect clarity and depth. In short, this is an exceedingly well plotted and well written work of literature, which can be enjoyed by a wide range of readers, not just those who love adventure yarns.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic that anyone can enjoy, September 2, 2002

By 

W. Sean McLaughlin (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel (Paperback)

Mutiny on the Bounty is a stunning work of historical fiction that is a pleasure to read.

The novel chronicles the events of the HMS Bounty as seen through the eyes of Roger Byam, a midshipman on the infamous Bounty. Through his eyes, the reader sees the terrible events unfold aboard the ship--the cruelty of Capt. Bligh that ultimately leads Fletcher Christian and much of the crew to mutiny against the captain. With Bligh left at sea, the crew returns to the South Pacific, seeking to make a new life for themselves and hoping to avoid capture and court martial by the British authorities. The conclusion of the novel is heart-wrenching and simply superb (and will be left as a surprise).

This novel relies a good deal on historical fact, though the authors clearly fill in the gaps with literary license. The characters are superbly developed and the story is riveting throughout. There is much nautical vocabulary, but this shouldn't distract readers as it can be glossed over without losing any significant content. I am not a historian and can make no statements about the veracity of the portrayals in this book. I do know that readers will find this novel difficult to put down. It is simply a classic story.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No More Holywood Versions!, March 3, 2004

By 

T. Krolick "tom149" (Naperville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mutiny on the Bounty (Hardcover)

I finally got a copy of this book after a lifetime of seeing the story altered and parodied in cinema and television. If you want a great account of the events, that is also interesting reading, look no further. Dont bother to rent the DVD version of the movie, which has just been released. Otherwise you would think that Bligh returns to tahiti to capture Christian personally, which isn't in the book. You would think that Byam got to confront Bligh after being wrongly accused, which isn't in the book. And you would think that people were being keel-hauled from the bounty, which was explicitely stated in the book as being a practice banned years before. If you must watch a movie , watch Mel Gibsons version, but first read the book so you can seperate facts from Holywood "artistic license."