The Wreck of the Grosvenor (original 1877; edition 1999)

"Clark Eussell deserves a whole shelf for himself, but anyhow you could not miss out " The Wreck of the
Grosvenor." " --Through the Magic Door, p. 241

The Wreck of the "Grosvenor" (1877) was "the most popular mid-Victorian melodrama of heroism and adventure at sea", according to John Sutherland. Russell was admired by Joseph Conrad and the similarities are striking. Russell wrote dozens of solid genre nautical fiction novels while Conrad took it to the level of literature, for better and worse. But if your looking for an easy to read 19th century sea tale with heroic deeds, evil captains, epic storms, salty old seamen who would stick ya, this is probably one of the best. It's not high literature but the action is non-stop, it feels authentic and it's a gripping plot. All around good light fun with forgotten semi-classic navel lit of the 19th century.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd ( )