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Horrible Shipwreck!: A Full, True and Particular Account of the Melancholy Loss of the British Convict Ship Amphitrite, the 31st August 1833, off … in Sight of Thousands, None Being Saved First American Edition
Author(s): Andrew C A Jampoler (Author)
- Publisher: Naval Institute Press
- Publication Date: December 1, 2010
- Edition: First American Edition
- Language: English
- Print length: 288 pages
- ISBN-10: 1591144116
- ISBN-13: 9781591144113
Book Description
On August 25, 1833, the British convict ship Amphitrite, filled with more than one hundred women prisoners and their children along with a crew of thirteen, left London for a convict colony in New South Wales. Less than a week later, all but three died when a savage storm battered their ship to pieces on the beach at Boulogne–in sight of hundreds of horrified onlookers. Inexplicably, the captain, John Hunter, had refused offers of aid from the shore. Sensational news coverage of the calamity prompted an Admiralty investigation to find out who was responsible. The suspicion was that Hunter and the surgeon aboard rejected assistance because they feared the women would escape custody. Some blamed the doctor’s wife because she had refused to go ashore in the same boat with the convicts so no boat was launched. Colorfully set in the political and social context of early 19th century Great Britain, this account of the shipwreck is peopled with a fascinating cast of characters that includes John Wilks, the Paris correspondent of a London newspaper whose reporting triggered public emotions; Lord Palmerston, the British foreign secretary; William Hamilton, the British consul who led the investigation; Sarah Austin, a British expatriate whose heroism the night of the wreck merits an award; and a Prussian prince. Drawing from government records in England, Scotland, and France, and from contemporary reports, Andrew Jampoler spins a memorable sea tale that is entirely true yet rivals the best of fiction. Readers will find this latest addition to his growing body of works firmly cements Jampoler’s reputation as a master storyteller.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Very well written and researched… An amazing tale of incompetence, corruption, fateful decisions, and cover-ups, this is a classic of the passenger vessel disaster genre.” Ausmarine, June 2011
Captivating… a solidly researched, engagingly written, and remarkably informative book on an incredibly dramatic yet largely forgotten event in the annals of maritime and European history… Jampoler’s comprehensive and thoughtful book rescues the memory of this disaster, its many victims, and the compassionate few who attempted to avert a horrible shipwreck. Michael Dove, “The Northern Marine/Le marin du nord,” July 2012
About the Author
Andrew C. A. Jampoler spent nearly twenty-five years as an active-duty naval aviator including a year on the ground in Vietnam, command of a squadron and a naval air station, and service on several high-level staffs. He is the author of six other Naval Institute Press books, beginning with Adak in 2003 and most recently Congo.
