Captains Courageous (Oxford World's Classics)

by RudyardKipling (Author), Leonee Ormond (Editor)

• Used

  Paperback
  1999

  $4.70

  Harvey Cheyne is the over-indulged son of a millionaire. When he falls overboard from an ocean liner he is rescued by a Portuguese fisherman and, initially against his will, joins the crew of the We're Here for a summer. Through the medium of an exciting adventure story, Captains Courageous (1897) deals with a boy who like Mowgli in The Jungle Book, is thrown into an entirely alien environment. The superstitious, magical world of the sea and the tough, orderly, physical world of the boat form a backdrop to Harvey's regeneration. Kipling describes the fascination skills of the schooner fishermen who would soon be made redundant by the twentieth century, and makes the ship function as a convincing model for a society engaged in a difficult and dangerous task. The introduction to this edition examines its place among other maritime novels and among Kipling's own work, and explanatory notes clarify the seafaring terms and historical and geographical references.

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.75

  The only one of Kipling's novels to be cast in an American setting, Captains Courageous endures as one of literature's most cherished and memorable sea adventures. Harvey Cheyne, spoiled millionaire's son, tumbles overboard from a luxury liner--only to be rescued by the crew of a Gloucester schooner. Thus begins the boy's second voyage into the rugged rites and ways of sailors. Like all Kipling's masterworks, Captains Courageous is an interweaving of art and moral purpose. Angus Wilson has said that it shows delicacy of craft and violence of feeling, exactitude and wile impressionism, subtlety and true innocence. A popular favorite since its first publication in 1897, the novel remains a classic story of youthful initiation--and a lively tribute to the author's famous code of bravery, loyalty, an honor among men.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1995

  $3.41

  Written in 1897, Kipling's adventure tale relates how the over-indulged son of a millionaire finds himself serving aboard a Portuguese fishing vessel. The superstitious world of the sea and the tough, orderly life of the ship form a backdrop to the boy's transition into manhood.

• New

  Paperback
  2003

  $9.73