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In Search of the Castaways
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In Search of the Castaways (edit title/settings)

or, The Children of Captain Grant

by Jules Verne (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

ALL that could be discovered, however, on these pieces of paper was a few words here and there, the remainder of the lines being almost completely obliterated by the action of the water. Lord Glenarvan examined them attentively for a few minutes, turning them over on all sides, holding them up... read more

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Summary edit see section history

The book tells the story of the quest for Captain Grant of the Britannia. After finding a bottle cast into the ocean by the captain himself after the Britannia is shipwrecked, Lord and Lady Glenarvan of Scotland contact Mary and Robert, the young daughter and son of Captain Grant, through an... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The book tells the story of the quest for Captain Grant of the Britannia. After finding a bottle cast into the ocean by the captain himself after the Britannia is shipwrecked, Lord and Lady Glenarvan of Scotland contact Mary and Robert, the young daughter and son of Captain Grant, through an announcement in a newspaper. Moved by the children's condition, Lord and Lady Glenarvan decide to launch a rescue expedition. The main difficulty is that the coordinates of the wreckage are mostly erased, and only the latitude (37 degrees) is known; thus, the expedition would have to circumnavigate the 37th parallel south. Remaining clues consist of a few words in three languages. They are re-interpreted several times throughout the novel to make various destinations seem likely.

Lord Glenarvan makes it his quest to find Grant; together with his wife, Grant's children and the crew of his yacht the Duncan they set off for South America. An unexpected passenger in the form of French geographer Jacques Paganel (he missed his steamer to India by accidentally boarding on the Duncan) joins the search. They explore Patagonia, Tristan da Cunha Island, Amsterdam Island and Australia (a pretext to describe the flora, fauna and geography of numerous places to the targeted audience).

There, they find a former quarter-master of the Britannia, Ayrton, who proposes to lead them to the site of the wreckage. However, Ayrton is a traitor, who was not present during the loss of the Britannia, but was abandoned in Australia after a failed attempt to seize control of the ship to practice piracy. He tries to take control of the Duncan, but out of sheer luck, this attempt also fails. However the Glenarvans, the Grant children, Paganel and some sailors are left in Australia, and mistakenly believing that the Duncan is lost, they sail to Auckland, New Zealand, from where they want to come back to Europe. When their ship is wrecked south of Auckland on the New Zealand coast, they're captured by a Māori tribe, but luckily manage to escape and board a ship that they discover, with their greatest surprise, to be the Duncan.

Ayrton, made a prisoner, offers to trade his knowledge of Captain Grant in exchange for being abandoned on a desert island instead of being surrendered to the English authorities. The Duncan sets sail for the Tabor Island, which, out of sheer luck, turns out to be Captain Grant's shelter. They leave Ayrton in his place to live among the beasts and regain his humanity. Ayrton reappears in Verne's later novel, L'Île mystérieuse (The Mysterious Island, 1874).

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First Sentence edit see section history

On the 26th of July, 1864, a magnificent yacht as steaming along the North Chanel at full speed, with a strog breeze blowing from the N. E.

Table of Contents edit see section history

CHAPTER I: The Shark
CHAPTER II: The Three Documents
CHAPTER III:
CHAPTER IV:
CHAPTER V:
CHAPTER VI:
CHAPTER VII:
CHAPTER VIII:
CHAPTER IX:
CHAPTER X:
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XVI
CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVIII
CHAPTER XIX
CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER XXI

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 5 of 53 in Voyages Extraordinaires. (universe)

Preceded by From the Earth to the Moon, and followed by Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Jules Verne (Author)

Classification edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Mysterious Island
  • Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
  • A Journey to the Center of the Earth

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