
audiobook
This volume stitches together the scattered accounts of one of the most notorious naval rebellions of the eighteenth century, presenting a clear picture of life aboard a Royal Navy ship, the ambitions that drove its crew, and the exotic world they encountered on their Pacific voyage. By drawing on official reports, personal testimonies and the editor’s own commentary, it offers listeners a grounded view of the tensions that sparked the mutiny before it erupted, while also placing the episode within the broader age of discovery championed by King George III.
The narrative is enriched with intimate letters from the condemned Peter Heywood to his sister, revealing the human cost of discipline and exile, and with contemporary poetry that captures the allure of Tahiti’s abundant, untouched landscape. Listeners will be drawn into the contrast between the ship’s rigid hierarchy and the island’s seemingly effortless bounty, gaining insight into why the crew’s longing for freedom grew so powerful.
Language
en
Duration
~9 hours (559K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team
Release date
2004-12-23
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1764–1848
A longtime Admiralty official and energetic writer, he helped shape Britain's age of exploration and became closely linked with the search for the Northwest Passage. His books and travel writing brought faraway places—and the politics behind discovery—to a wide public.
View all books
by William Bligh

by William Bligh

by Rosalind Amelia Young