• The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager
  • The Wager

The Wager

History
Paperback Published on: 04/01/2024
In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 working days
Make and edit your lists in your account
Check click & collect stock near you
Collect today: Pay in shop

Bookseller Reviews

View all
The Wager
A Roaring Tale Of Castaways and Empire!
There is much to admire in David Grann’s telling of the shipwreck of, and the subsequent horrors that befell, the 18th century naval vessel: the HMS Wager.... READ MORE
Izzy
The Wager
An astonishing piece of narrative nonfiction
It's not the usual sort of book I would pick up, but something about it called to me. This book is exactly what it says on the cover, a shipwreck, mutin... READ MORE
Angie at Blackpool
The Wager
A thrilling adventure for fans of history books and/or fiction thrillers.
This was a captivating story, hooking in the reader with an intriguingly teasing introduction, hinting at the catastrophe to come without telling you who t... READ MORE
Loricha Honer
The Wager
Incredible tale of survival
Fast paced and informative, and with so much tension that it reads at time like a naval thriller novel. You can really understand both sides of the mutiny ... READ MORE
V
The Wager
Great read and incredible story
This is an amazing tale of hardship and endeavour against impossible odds. Reads like fiction and brilliantly brings to life unbelievably tough existence a... READ MORE
Ed Ripley
The Wager
Glorious.
Thrilling, meticulously researched, excellently written. Grann is a born storyteller who knows how to bring history abundantly alive and I cannot recommend... READ MORE
Aaron Myles
The Wager
Unputdownable narrative history
I was never in doubt that I was going to love this. It could have been poorly written and the premise of the story would still have kept me reading. But it... READ MORE
Simon Pressinger
The Wager
Top notch writing from the wonderful David Grann
Drama on the high seas, mystery, murder and suspense, along with a healthy swipe at the dubious practices of the British Empire. This book really has it al... READ MORE
Maggie at Bracknell
The Wager
A True Story That Reads Better Than Fiction
This is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read; the way that Grann brings these people to life is incredible, but it comes at a terrible cost bec... READ MORE
Rhea
The Wager
Captivating Castaways
It's the prefect read for anyone who enjoyed Erebus or Madhouse At The End Of The Earth. The conflicting accounts of what took place mean that you as the r... READ MORE
Becky, Waterstones Gloucester
The Wager
A Gripping Adventure
Grann writes in such a manner that makes the non-fic world fictional, fleshing out characters with soul, backed with a no stone left unturned approach to e... READ MORE
Joe Hayward
The Wager
Best Starter Non-Fiction
I loved this! This is the perfect book for people trying to get into reading more non fiction it’s gripping, reads like fiction. This is the perfect ... READ MORE
Rebecca at Twickenham

Synopsis

From the international bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, a mesmerising story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.

On 28th January 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's ship The Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon, The Wager was wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The crew, marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2,500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

Then, six months later, another, even more decrepit, craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with counter-charges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. While stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death-for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
  • ISBN: 9781471183706
  • Number of pages: 368
  • Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 23 mm

Customer Reviews

View all
The Wager
A stunning examination of humanity and survival
David Grann has continued to prove himself as a master of engrossing historical tomes; from the startling brilliance of “The Lost City of Z” to the stark a... READ MORE
WilWritesReviews
The Wager
Great tale well told
Loved reading this. Was a bit worried it would be too factual from diaries but it is written in a very readable way. Great fun read and love these storie... READ MORE
Kirk Watson
The Wager
Of the 15 books I’ve read so far this year, this is number 1
Really well researched & written account of true events about HMS Wager’s voyage in 1741. The crew included midshipman John Byron (grandfather of Lord Byro... READ MORE
Andrew Wishaw
The Wager
A good story, slightly spoiled
This should have been an excellent book, but there are a couple of flaws which cropped up often enough to irritate. The story is already there in history ... READ MORE
Joe KELLY
The Wager
Top Read
Enjoyed verey miute of it
Joseph Attard