
Chapter One. - The Champion Whaler—The Captain and his Children—Sights at Sea—Frigate-Birds and Flying-Fish—A Bonito—Catching Albatrosses—Mutinous Mutterings—A Timely Warning.
Chapter Two. - Precautions—A Mutiny—Mutineers Defeated—Attempt to round Cape Horn—Driven back—A Fearful Gale—Amidst Icebergs—A Magnificent Sight—Man Overboard—Mutineer killed by an Albatross.
Chapter Three. - The “Champion” in the Pacific—First Whales Caught—Cutting in and Trying out—Various Places Visited—A Chase and Battle—A Prize Taken—The Prize parts Company—The Boats in chase of Whales—Walter’s Boat Destroyed—The Mate and Walter on the Wrecked Boat—A Fire Seen.
Chapter Four. - Alice left on Board—Mutineers and Prisoners attempt to take the Ship—Gallantry of the Surgeon—Fire breaks Out—Nub saves Alice on a Raft—Watch the Burning Ship—Voyage of Alice and Nub on the Raft—Look out for a Sail—A Terrific Thunderstorm—A Sail in Sight.
Chapter Five. - Walter and the Mate visit the Ship—The “Champion” blows up—Construct a Raft—The Voyage on it—Sufferings from Want of Water—A Shower of Rain—Looking out for the Boats—No Sail in Sight.
Chapter Six. - Walter and the Mate’s Voyage on the Raft continued—Flying-Fish caught—A Thunder Storm—Meeting of Alice and Walter—The Raft Increased—Is it an Island!—Reach an Enormous Dead Whale of a New Species.
Chapter Seven. - On the Whale’s Back—Signs of a Wreck—Light a Fire and cook Blubber—A Novel Lamp Contrived—A Sail in Sight—Disappointment—Nub’s Narrow Escape—The Whale rolls over—A Fearful Predicament—The Raft with Walter sails away.
Chapter Eight. - The Whale sinks—Alice supported by the Mate—A Hammer-Headed Shark appears—Alice’s Alarm—Nub conquers the Hammer-head—Voyage on a Sea-Chest.
Chapter Nine. - Voyage on a Chest continued—Find a Cask on which Nub and the Mate rest—The Raft with Walter returns—A Sword-fish caught—A Boat picked up—Washed from the Raft—Stormy Night—Two Rafts in Sight.
Chapter Ten. - On board the “Champion”—Mutiny—Fire breaks out—The Crew, with the Doctor and Tidy, escape on a Raft—Rum, and its Effects—Men lost—Steer away from the Dead Whale—Rum causes the Death of most of the Party—A Murder—The Survivors received on board the Boat.
A seasoned South‑Sea whaler slides out of the Mersey under a brisk northerly wind, its captain determined to end a three‑decade career with one final, profitable hunt for sperm whales. With his two young children clinging to his side, the veteran commander promises his son a crash course in knots, splices and compass work, while his daughter watches the strange horizons he constantly describes. The ship carries not only whaling gear but eight guns and a letter of marque, hinting at the uneasy peace between commerce and conflict that colors every port of call.
Early days at sea bring vivid encounters with flying‑fish, albatrosses and a sudden, uneasy mutiny muttering among the crew, setting a tone of both wonder and tension. As the children adjust to shipboard life, the captain’s hope to protect his family clashes with the unpredictable perils of the Pacific, promising a coming-of‑age tale woven through the roar of the ocean and the chase of leviathans.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (392K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
Release date
2007-05-15
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1814–1880
Best known for lively sea stories and adventure tales, this Victorian writer helped shape generations of young readers' taste for travel, danger, and moral courage. His books drew on a life that stretched between London and Portugal, giving his fiction an outward-looking, international feel.
View all books
by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston, Henry Frith

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston