The Wager
A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
On behalf of: Kathy Robbins - The Robbins Office, Inc.
From the international bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, a mesmerizing story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.
Then, six months later, another, even more decrepit, craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes—they were mutineers. The first group responded with counter-charges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. While stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death—for whomever the court found guilty could hang.
Reviews
“Recounting the tumultuous events in tense detail, Grann sets the Wager episode in the context of European imperialism as much as the wrath of the sea. A brisk, absorbing history and a no-brainer for fans of the author’s suspenseful historical thrillers.”—Kirkus, starred review
“Grann (Killers of the Flower Moon, 2017) vividly narrates a nearly forgotten incident with an eye for each character’s personal stakes while also reminding readers of the imperialist context prompting the misadventure.”—Booklist, starred review
“Bestseller Grann (Killers of the Flower Moon) delivers a concise and riveting account of the HMS Wager… Grann packs the narrative with fascinating details about life at sea—from scurvy-induced delirium to the mechanics of loading and firing a cannon—and makes excellent use of primary sources, including a firsthand account by 16-year-old midshipman John Byron, grandfather of the poet Lord Byron. Armchair adventurers will be enthralled.”—Publishers Weekly
“A tour de force of narrative nonfiction, Mr. Grann’s account shows how storytelling, whether to judges or readers, can shape individual and national fortunes—as well as our collective memory…The Wager is likely to cast a powerful spell on modern readers…”—The Wall Street Journal
“An engrossing survival story, The Wager is a knotty tale of moral compromises and betrayal and a metaphysical inquiry into the elusive nature of truth and the power of stories to shape history and our perceptions of reality.”—The New York Times
“The Wager reads like a thriller, tackling a multilayered history—and imperialism—with gusto.”—TIME
“Those who love yarns involving cannon fire, sea-chests, plum duff and mainmasts will find The Wager riveting, as will those less intrigued by the age of sail. In the hands of David Grann, the story transcends its naval setting… [Grann] is a master of exciting tales in far-flung places. He has produced a volume so dramatic and engrossing that it may surpass his previous books.”—The Economist
“The story of the Wager is, like many of its antecedents—from Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ to ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’—a testament to the depths of human depravity and the heights of human endurance, and you can’t ask for better than that from a story…The Wager will keep you in its grip to its head-scratching, improbable end.”—The Los Angeles Times
“More than the adventure story, the Rashomon-like atmosphere is what gives The Wager the intellectual heft of a David Grann endeavor.”—New York Magazine
“…a remarkable book. [Martin] Scorsese must agree: he and Leonardo DiCaprio are already slated to bring it to the screen.”—The Boston Globe
“This book is a tour de force.”—The Toronto Star