Review
WL Rating
I hadn’t read this book in years, but my dad gave me his ancient copy of the trilogy (also includes the books Men Against the Sea and Pitcairn’s Island) complete with an original piece of the keel from the actual ship, the Bounty. The first book in the trilogy, Mutiny on the Bounty is a piece of historical fiction that tells the story of the famous mutiny from a young crew member’s perspective. The protagonist, Roger Byam, is based on actual crew member Peter Heywood. Byam tells the story of Fletcher Christian’s mutiny while under the command of the infamous William Bligh, the lieutenant and commander of the Bounty. The authors do an excellent job of portraying the events leading up to and beyond the mutiny. While there is no doubt that Bligh was an irrational, abusive captain, the authors never really pass clear judgement on whether his behavior is worthy of mutiny. After all, it’s not like ships in the latter part of the 18th century were crewed by well-behaved gentlemen. Rather, they tended to be manned by the dregs of society. On the other hand, you get the sense that the reaction and motives of Master’s Mate Fletcher Christian’s are, if not completely flawed, at least ill-conceived and naive. Whatever your final judgement after reading the book, there’s no doubt that this is a very approachable, well-plotted piece of literature. I found it an easy read and very entertaining. A classic and definitely a WL Essential. (June 2009)
Mutiny on the Bounty - Nordoff & Hall
