Byron of the Wager

New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. Very Good/Good. 1975. First USA Edition. Hard Cover. 8vo 0698106695 Dust jacket rubbed and some loss to edges, price clipped, now in clear protective sleeve. Red cloth with bright gilt titling on spine. Illustrated end papers. Maps. 8 pages of Plates. 288 pages clean and tight. THE WRECK of the Wager, next to the mutiny on the Bounty, stands as one of the most powerful true adventure stories in the history of the sea. Based in part on journals kept by Midshipman John Byron-future grandfather to the poet-the narrative follows the voyage of the Wager, a 40-gun English supply ship detailed to accompany a squadron searching for Spanish treasure ships in the Pacific. After a safe passage from England ;n 1740, the Wager was parted from her squadron in terrible weather rounding Cape Horn and was driven ashort on the Pacific coast of Tierra del Fuego. A great part of the ship's company was saved, but the worst struggles lay ahead. Even before the wreck there had been grave personal tensions among the ship's company. The Wager's captain, though a fine seaman of high courage, was neurotic and ill. Like the rest of the squadron, the Wager was carrying soldiers, not directly under naval discipline, plus a large amount of liquor. The situation was explosive. .