Maritime and metaphysical verse by John Masefield, English poet and author, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death. (Summary by Liam Neely)
14 episodes
In 1822, Aaron Smith, a young English seaman, was taken captive by Cuban pirates when his ship was boarded en route from Jamaica to England. Forced to work as a navigator and as a member of pirate boarding parties, he witnessed unspeakable acts of murder and torture. Befriended by a young Cuban woman, he managed to escape with his life, but was arrested as a pirate in Havana and sent back to England in chains. There, he found himself on trial for his life at the Old Bailey courthouse—with the attorney general himself leading the prosecution. Smith's dramatic account of his personal experience is a brutally honest, unromanticized [sic] look at piracy in the 19th century. (Summary by Google Books)
8 episodes
When a rough old seaman calling himself "the Captain" appears at the inn owned by Jim Hawkins' father, young Jim little dreams what adventures will follow in the man's wake. Soon, the once-peaceful inn is threatened by pirates, Jim's father is laid in his grave, and Jim finds himself in possession of a map showing the location of treasure buried by the legendary and notorious Captain Flint. Along with a group of brave men: the sensible Dr. Livesey, the fearless and unflagging Captain Smollett, and the blustering but well-meaning Squire Trelawney, Jim sets out in quest of the treasure. Many perils, from wild animals to murderous villains to stormy seas will beset him on the way. And ever in the background, smiling and enigmatic, lurks the one-legged ship's cook, Long John Silver. One of the best-loved adventure stories of all time, Treasure Island is a pirate classic that delights readers today as much as when Stevenson first wrote it. (Summary by Eden Rea-Hedrick)
Cast listing:Jim Hawkins, Dedication and Introductory Poem: Eden Rea-HedrickBilly Bones, "the Captain", Dr. Livesey, Long John Silver: Barry EadsBlack Dog: Phillip J MatherMrs. Hawkins, Dick: Elizabeth KlettPew, George Merry: alanmapstoneMr. Dance: Algy PugPirate 1: ToddHWPirate 2: justinschwPirate 3: KristingjSquire Trelawney: Andy MinterTom Redruth: MarcyTTom Morgan: Robin KingCaptain Smollett: DublinGothicIsrael Hands: Mark F. SmithCaptain Flint (a parrot): TriciaGJob Anderson: Raphael PlattTom, Joyce: CaprishaPageBen Gunn: csjesi1Abraham Gray: David LawrenceHunter: Grace
Edited by ToddHW.
35 episodes
Nördlich von Australien, um 1840. Während einer Reise von Sidney nach Singapur sichtet die Mannschaft des Segelschiffes Betsy Ann auf den Klippen des Great Barrier Reef ein Wrack. Die Bark scheint menschenleer zu sein, doch als einige Männer der Betsy Ann zu dem Wrack hinüberrudern, finden sie dort einen rätselhaften Einsiedler vor. Blutspuren deuten auf einen Kampf an Bord hin, und den Seeleuten wird bald klar, dass hier ein Verbrechen geschehen ist. Aber was genau ist passiert, und welche Rolle spielte dabei dieser schweigsame Mann? Da geschieht plötzlich ein weiteres Unglück...
Friedrich Gerstäcker, Sohn eines Opernsängers und einer Schauspielerin in Hamburg, wanderte nach einer landwirtschaftlichen Ausbildung in jungen Jahren nach Amerika aus. Zurück in Deutschland gründete er eine Familie, doch es zog ihn wieder in die Ferne: in Südamerika, als Goldgräber in Kalifornien, auf einem Walfangschiff, in Australien, Java und als Kriegsberichterstatter im Deutsch-Französischen Krieg erlebte er manches Abenteuer, und anders als Karl May konnte er in seinen spannenden Erzählungen seine eigenen Erlebnisse verarbeiten. Er gehört zu den bedeutendsten Vertretern der deutschen Abenteuerliteratur. (Zusammenfassung von Karlsson)
7 episodes
"Maggie Brown is torn between her mother who constantly tells her to live for her selfish brother (to whom she gives all her love) to her wish to marry Frank and live for herself. Maggie's plight for independence shows the change in women's role, which started to take place during that time. But it also keeps to the tradition of an almost Cinderella story: the pure woman does the best for everyone but herself and is rewarded for that. In addition, this is a very interesting story, written in Gaskell's remarkable style. When you read it, you are transported to another time, and place". (Summary by Stav Nisser.)
11 episodes
Eamont was an opium clipper built in Cowes. It was the subject of an 1891 book, A cruise in an opium clipper, by Captain Lindsay Anderson. Eamont was involved in the opening of Japan to foreigners in 1858, serving as a dispatch boat between Nagasaki and Shanghai, and was one of the first vessels to open up a trade with Formosa…. The Eamont was sent on some very dangerous trips. She was one of the first vessels to open up a trade with Formosa, and made the first survey of the port of Taku, which she entered by bumping over the reef in spite of a tremendous surf beating upon it at the time, a most daring performance. And in her efforts to trade with the Formosans she had to withstand the attack of hundreds of armed natives right on top of a typhoon, which she succeeded in riding out on her moorings. But the captain of the Eamont was a famous fighting man, as the Chinese pirates knew to their cost…. The Eamont was also employed in the negotiations for the first commercial treaty with Japan. (See Wikipedia article on Eamont (schooner)) - Summary by wikipedia and david wales
14 episodes
Most of us have passed through a period of life during which we have ardently longed to be, if not actually a rover, a buccaneer, or a pirate, at least and really a sailor! To run away to sea has been the misdirected ambition of many a youngster, and some lads there are who have realized their desire to their sorrow. The boy who has not cherished in his heart and exhibited in his actions at sometime or other during his youthful days, a love of ships and salt water, is fit for—well, he is fit for the shore, and that is the worst thing a sailor could say about him! (From the introduction, by Cyrus Townsend Brady)
30 episodes
Dedicated to the author's son who was wounded in World War 1, The Shadow-Line is a short novel based at sea by Joseph Conrad; it is one of his later works, being written from February to December 1915. It was first published in 1916 as a serial and in book form in 1917. The novella depicts the development of a young man upon taking a captaincy in the Orient, with the shadow line of the title representing the threshold of this development. The novella is notable for its dual narrative structure. The full, subtitled title of the novel is The Shadow-Line, A Confession, which immediately alerts the reader to the retrospective nature of the novella. The ironic constructions following from the conflict between the 'young' protagonist (who is never named) and the 'old' drive much of the underlying points of the novella, namely the nature of wisdom, experience and maturity. Conrad also extensively uses irony by comparison in the work, with characters such as Captain Giles and the ship's 'factotum' Ransome used to emphasise strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist. The novella has often been cited as a metaphor of the First World War, given its timing and references to a long struggle, the importance of camaraderie, etc. This viewpoint may also be reinforced by the knowledge that Conrad's elder son, Borys, was wounded in the First World War. Others however see the novel as having a strong supernatural influence, referring to various plot-lines in the novella such as the 'ghost' of the previous captain potentially cursing the ship, and the madness of first mate Mr Burns. Conrad himself, however, denied this link in his 'Author's Note' (1920), claiming that although critics had attempted to show this link, "The world of the living contains enough marvels and mysteries as it is." Summary by Wikipedia (edited by Expatriate)
11 episodes
While L. M. Montgomery is better known for her novels, such as Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon, she also wrote hundreds of poems. Her love of beauty, nature, and the sea is evident in this, the only volume of her poetry published during her lifetime. - Summary by Rachel
94 episodes
Frederick von Kammacher is a young doctor in Germany whose wife has gone insane, whose children are in a boarding school, and whose career has been destroyed by some faulty research he has done. He becomes infatuated with a teenage dancer, and on a whim he boards the the same steamship the dancer is on bound for New York. Hauptmann was heralded as a seer for his description of what happens to their steamship mid-ocean, and what in reality happened to the Titanic only months later. (Summary by Margaret)
39 episodes
Mysterious old Captain Coffin not only has a wild story about a Honduran island where treasure lies, he has a map. But they must be wary because it also holds “a poison that kills a man and keeps him fresh as paint”. Nothing can hold Harry back from tagging along and meeting up with murder, intrigue, a collection of colorful characters, and a vociferous parrot. - Summary by Amy Gramour
34 episodes
"Her death is not only a great loss to those who knew and loved her: it is a great loss to Canadian literature and to the Canadian nation. I must think that she will hold a memorable place among poets in virtue of her descent and also in virtue of the work she has left behind, small as the quantity of that work is. I believe that Canada will, in future times, cherish her memory more and more, for of all Canadian poets she was the most distinctly a daughter of the soil, inasmuch as she inherited the blood of the great primeval race now so rapidly vanishing, and of the greater race that has supplanted it." (Theodore Watts-Dunton, from the Introduction to Flint and Feather)
10 episodes
Eric Blackburn's strange adventures begin when the ship on which he is engaged as fourth officer is struck by an enormous meteorite and sinks within minutes, and Blackburn is the sole survivor out of the 535 people on board that ship. Through extraordinary luck he reaches an overturned lifeboat into which he saves himself, and from which he is rescued by the Yorkshire Lass. The Yorkshire Lass, however, brings with it a new adventure, as it is on a quest for hidden treasure on a mysterious tropical island and is going to catapult Eric into unprecedented adventures. - Summary by Carolin
18 episodes
This is the start of a series of four books following three friends through their career in the navy. Terence, Jack and Alick first meet at a boarding school, and become fast friends, not least because together they stand up to the school bullies. Later, they join the navy together, and though they join different ships and are mostly apart, adventures involving sea battles, storms, and even pirates, have a way of allowing their paths to cross in order to look after one another as they did in school. - Summary by Carolin
34 episodes
Peter Simple, 'the fool of the family', son of a parson but heir presumptive to a title, goes to sea as midshipman during the Napoleonic wars. Naturally, at sea in this period is where adventures are just waiting for a lad like Peter, and so he does stumble from one into the next. Of particular note is also the colourful group of supporting characters he meets on board and on shore. - Summary by Carolin
65 episodes
This lively collection of stories by Q, aka the imaginative and prolific man of letters Arthur Quiller-Couch, includes tales of mystery, horror, and adventure. Beware. There will be ghosts, pirates, scholars, death, taxes, at least one princess, and a ship named the White Wolf. - Summary by A. Gramour
27 episodes
A few years have passed since the adventures of Terence, Jack, and Alick as midshipmen in the British Navy. They have each gone on their paths and climbed the ranks, and now is the time that they seek to get back into touch - particularly now that they each have a young relative under their wing. Naturally, the adventures of a Lieutenant can assume even greater magnitudes than those of a midshipman, and our friends throw themselves right into the middle of all adventures that are to be had. - Summary by Carolin
35 episodes
We had hoped that our drama's scene might lie on a pirate ship at sea. We had wished for a swaying mast, full-set with canvas—a typhoon to smother our stage in wind. We had hoped to walk a victim off the plank, with the sea roaring in the wings. But our plot deals stubbornly with us. Alas, our pirates grow old and stiff. They have retired, as we say, from active practice and live in easy luxury on shore. Yet we shall see that their villainy still thrives. - Summary from Prologue By the way, Section 0 has a buncha interesting explanations by the author on why and how the play came about and is called what it is - with no spoilers. But if you need to get right into the action, just start with Act 1. (ToddHW)
Cast list:
The Duke: Son of the Exiles
Patch-Eye: Larry Wilson
The Captain: Leanne Yau
Red Joe: Tomas Peter
Darlin': TJ Burns
Betsy: Devorah Allen
Old Meg: Linda Olsen Fitak
Sailor Captain: alanmapstone
Stage Directions: Sonia
Introduction and Editing: ToddHW
4 episodes
Denne romanen forteller historien om ei gruppe fattige fiskere på begynnelsen av 1900-tallet og et års Lofotfiske. Vi følger far og sønn, Kristaver og Lars, gjennom slitsomme og spennende måneder på fiske. Kristaver, som er høvedsmann på egen båt for aller første gang, er som en "gud på havet" i øynene til sønnen. Mor går hjemme med de yngste barna, tar hånd om dyra og den lille gården og engster seg nesten syk gjennom den lange vinteren mens mannfolkene er på havet. Romanen utspiller seg i spenningen mellom rik og fattig, by og bygd, kyst og innland, tradisjon og framskritt samtidig som den er spennende, trist og medrivende. - Summary by kathrinee.
14 episodes
Cuando todos nos hubimos tranquilizado, nos pusimos a mirar la nave que se alejaba, hasta que se perdió de vista. El tiempo empeoraba y soplaba un ligero viento. En el preciso momento en que el buque desapareció en el horizonte, Parker se volvió hacia mí con una expresión en la cara que me dio escalofríos. Tenía un aire de seguridad y entereza que nunca le había observado. Antes de que despegara los labios, yo tenía el pálpito de lo que iba a decirme. En una palabra, insinuó que uno de nosotros debía morir con el fin de salvar a los demás. - Summary by Wikipedia
27 episodes
This is a book of remarkable nautical ghost and horror stories written by William Clark Russell in 1893. The stories are for the most part set on ships and bring the reader on board for ghostly nights, wonderful sights, and strange occurrences. (Summary by Carolin)
11 episodes
Drawing on his own experience as a merchant seaman, Russell gives us the fictionalized narrative of one Paul Rodney who found an icebound vessel in the South Atlantic, while captaining a pirate ship. Russell has been hailed as the pre-eminent English writer of his ilk, compared to such American writers as Melville and Dana. - Summary by Lynne Thompson
32 episodes
Young Hugh Tregarthen has grown up in a seafaring Cornish family, but is not born to follow the family tradition. Against his mother's wishes, he is coxswain of a lifeboat -- an important job along the treacherous coastline, which makes his mother proud, despite her misgivings. One morning, as he sets out for his boat Janet, invalid Mrs. Tregarthen warns her son of an ominous dream she had the previous night. He laughs it off... but sometimes, dreams come true. - Summary by Lynne Thompson
9 episodes
Fred Jane, who later went on to publish his famous "Jane's Fighting Ships", doubtless was noting the success of other books that forecast a British defeat in the event of war in the late 19th century when he wrote this fictional account of "The Man Who Saved England." Jane tells of a possible war against both France and Russia with plenty of verve and derring-do amid naval battles, both small and large. - Summary by Mark
17 episodes
This Verne adventure is indeed a mystery and also a satire on the Crusoe genre. Our characters are larger than life, as well they should be - Verne expects Americans to perform epics. Young Godfrey goes to sea for adventure before settling down with his bride to be. His incredibly wealthy uncle sets him aboard one of his steamers which founders some days out, leaving Godfrey and his companion, a dance and comportment instructor, near the shore of a uninhabited island. They set up residence, benefiting from livestock, some supplies and tools which apparently also wash ashore. Later, a canoe full of savages land in order to cook up a prisoner. Godfrey helps the latter escape, and the grateful native becomes a "Friday". While the island initially seems free from any predators, it is not long before Friday saves Godfrey from a bear, a tiger and a poisonous snake. But when swarms of lions, tigers, hyenas and crocodiles attack it is more than they can handle. Where do all the beasts come from? What is the cause of the occasional plume of smoke Godfrey notes on the island? Those are some of the mysteries about which the reader will be enlightened. (A. Banner )
22 episodes
Young naive sailor Billy Budd is impressed into military service with the British navy in the 1790s, framed for conspiracy to mutiny, summarily convicted in a drum-head court martial, and hanged. Billy Budd is the final published work by Herman Melville, discovered in his personal papers three decades after his death. (Summary by ScientificMethodist)
10 episodes
John and David grew up best of friends, outgoing and full of adventure. Living but miles from the sea west of Boston, right on the cusp of manhood at the end of America’s Revolutionary war, the ocean’s siren song beckoned to both. At the peak of adolescence, they struck out on foot in pursuit of their shared dream. Two days to Boston and only one day there found them aboard ship for a whirlwind of adventure beyond their wildest dreams. The next fifteen years shaped a future for the fledgling mariners that seems spun as a flaxen yarn --- were it not so historically accurate. - Summary by Tom Hirsch
22 episodes
