Maritime Fiction : Sailors and the Sea in British and American Novels, 1719-1917

In this important new study, John Peck examines the cultural significance of maritime novels from Defoe to Conrad. Focusing in particular on the image of the body, he illustrates how these works are built around the disparity between the masculine and often brutal regime of the ship and the civilized values of those who remain on the shore. The first comprehensive discussion of its subject, Maritime Fiction is an original exploration of the relationship between national identity, fiction, and the sea. In This Study, John Peck Examines The Cultural Significance Of Maritime Novels From Defoe Through To Conrad. Focusing In Particular On The Image Of The Body, He Illustrates How These Works Are Built Around The Disparity Between The Masculine And Often Brutal Regime Of The Ship And The Civilized Values Of Those Who Remain On The Shore. It Is An Exploration Of The Relationship Between National Identity, Fiction And The Sea.--jacket. Sea Stories. From Homer To Hakluyt ; Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe And Captain Singleton ; Tobias Smollett's Roderick Random ; Britain's Sea Story -- Jane Austen's Sailors. Mr. Midshipman Price ; The Sailor As Hero ; The Navy In Mansfield Park ; Persuasion -- Captain Marryat's Nave. William Iv, The Sailor King ; Frank Mildmay ; Mr. Midshipman Easy ; Marryat And His Contemporaries -- Dickens And The Sea. Dickens's Nautical Background ; Dombey And Son ; David Copperfield ; Dickens And Sir John Franklin -- American Sea Fiction: Cooper, Poe, Dana. James Fenimore Cooper's The Pilot And The Red Rover -- James Finemore Cooper's Afloat And Ashore -- Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym ; Richard Henry Dana's Two Years Before The Mast -- Herman Melville. Melville's Sea Stories ; Type And White-jacket ; Moby-dick ; Billy Budd -- Mid-victorian Maritime Fiction. From The Crimean War, 1854-6, To The Bombardment Of Alexandria, 1882 ; Elizabeth Gaskell's Sylvia's Lovers -- The Gentleman As Sailor: Trollope, Collins, Eliot ; The Sailor As Gentleman: William Clark Russell -- Adventures At Sea. Adventure Stories ; Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island ; Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous ; Jack London's The Sea-wolf -- Joseph Conrad. The Nigger Of The 'narcissus' ; Lord Jim And Heart Of Darkness ; 'falk', 'typhoon' And 'the Secret Sharer' ; Chance, Victory, The Shadow Line. John Peck. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In this important new study, John Peck examines the cultural significance of maritime novels from Defoe through to Conrad. Focusing in particular on the image of the body, he illustrates how these works are built around the disparity between the masculine and often brutal regime of the ship and the civilised values of those who remain on the shore. The first comprehensive discussion of its subject, Maritime Fiction is an original exploration of the relationship between national identity, fiction and the sea. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1 Sea Stories......Page 22 2 Jane Austen’s Sailors......Page 41 3 Captain Marryat’s Navy......Page 61 4 Dickens and the Sea......Page 81 5 American Sea Fiction: Cooper, Poe, Dana......Page 100 6 Herman Melville......Page 118 7 Mid-Victorian Maritime Fiction......Page 138 8 Adventures at Sea......Page 160 9 Joseph Conrad......Page 176 Notes......Page 197 Index......Page 220