#peter fitzsimons

[a-marvellous-miscellany]

My current reads + my tbr are very beige at the moment

[semper-legens]

109. Mutiny on the Bounty, by Peter Fitzsimons

Owned: No, library Page count: 562 My summary: An account of the famous Mutiny on the Bounty, where a crew of Naval sailors mutinied against their tyrannical captain - but unfortunately, the captain made it back to England, and the mutineers found themselves in hotter waters. My rating: 4/5 My commentary:

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you'll know that I love Boat Media. If it's set more than one hundred years ago on some sort of ship, I'm into it, especially if it's in any way based on or about real incidents. With this in mind, it's weird that I didn't know much about the mutiny on the Bounty before reading this book. It's only one of the most famous naval mutinies in English history, after all - a complex tale of a captain driven to the edge, and a crew forced to live with a tyrant. Adding to that are racial and sexual politics, as well as the imperialist nature of the white crew versus the native people. It's an absolutely fascinating piece of history, and this book represents it well! It's told in almost a prose style, though the author takes pains to point out that all dialogue is either taken from a primary source or is assumed based on other evidence. The book has an extensive bibliography, and the citations in the text are plenty. I did find that this framing was a little sensationalised at times - the focus by the author on the attractive Tahitian women trended towards the misogynistic, as well as being exoticising and fetishising. But overall, this is both a comprehensive and an entertaining account of the mutiny on the Bounty.

This is really a story about class, rank, and power. The captain, Bligh, was a tyrant and a monster, ready to punish and even execute his crew for the smallest perceived slight. The crewmen rightfully mutinied against him, risking their lives in the doing, but began to fall apart themselves once they returned to Tahiti. See, many of the men had taken Tahitian women either as wives or concubines, and insisted on taking them to Pitcairn Island, where they eventually hid out. Along with them were a few Tahitian men. Now, you might think that the mostly-white English crewmen, remembering how poorly they were treated by Bligh, might have considered the Tahitians their equals and not essentially enslaved them and given them far fewer rights and belongings on the island. But the mutineers were just as racist as their fellow white men! Which led to a lot of them being killed by the Tahitians when they were pushed too far, and the Tahitian men were killed in turn. Also, the English men treated the Tahitians like they were idiots even before this incident. They were patronising and assumed ignorance and mocked the Tahitians' culture, despite theirs not exactly being the best either.

Meanwhile, back in England, many of the crew who were loyal to the Captain but wound up still on the Bounty with the mutineers were accused of being mutineers themselves. One, a midshipman, managed to escape the death penalty by leveraging his family's money and connections. Another also was pardoned. Three, including a teenager, were not so lucky, and were hanged for mutiny against their tyrannical Captain after being imprisoned in awful conditions. After Bligh returned to England, he was treated as a hero, but by the time the midshipman and others were returned, people were beginning to realise what a bastard this man was. And yet, he continued to be a Captain. Because damn it, he was a Navy man, and as the Captain of the ship was not in line to be summarily executed for treating his crew like dogs. Whereas mutiny? That was a hanging offence, and one laid on the heads of the mutineers. Mutineers must only have mutinied because they were evil, you see. Never mind that their Captain was abusing them, punishing them for next to nothing, and was so awful that this wasn't even the last time he would be mutinied against. Class in 19th century society sure was something.

Next up, we're back to CHERUB, as James goes on his first full mission.

[bookstand]

Finished Reading: Tobruk by Peter FitzSimons Tobruk by Peter FitzSimons My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

[bookstand]

Finished Reading: James Cook – The Story Behind the Man Who Mapped the World by Peter FitzSimons James Cook: The story behind the man who mapped the world by Peter FitzSimons My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

[bookstand]

Finished Reading: Monash’s Masterpiece: The Battle of Le Hamel and the 93 Minutes that Changed the World by Peter FitzSimons Monash's Masterpiece: The battle of Le Hamel and the 93 minutes that changed the world by Peter FitzSimons My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

[bookstand]

Finished Reading: The Catalpa Rescue – The Gripping Story of the Most Dramatic and Successful Prison Break in Australian History by Peter FitzSimons The Catalpa Rescue: The gripping story of the most dramatic and successful prison break in Australian history by Peter FitzSimons My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

[bookstand]

Finished Reading: Mutiny on the Bounty by Peter FitzSimons Mutiny on the Bounty: A saga of sex, sedition, mayhem and mutiny, and survival against extraordinary odds by Peter FitzSimons My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

[theredandwhitequeen]

Book 59 of the 50 book challenge. Nancy Wake by Peter Fitzsimons. A biography of Nancy Wake a woman born in New Zealand, raised in Australia and married a Frenchman in France before WWII. She was a resistance fighter at the start of the war, by helping escaping British and French soldiers escape to Spain across the mountains, then later after she escaped the Nazi’s, went to spy school in England and returned to help arm the Maquis fighters in France. She was a hero and did a great job for her men. Her husband was murdered and tortured by the Nazis for what she was doing and because she wouldn’t tell them where she was. It’s a really good book and I highly recommend it.