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Island of the Lost

Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World

by Joan Druett

Narrator David Colacci

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Length 8 hours 35 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“This book is astonishing! Two historical shipwrecks happened at the same time in 1864 on opposite coasts of Auckland Island, almost 300 miles south of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean. Only three men survived of the twenty-four who were on the Invercauld, lead by Captain George Dalgarno. Some of the men climbed a 2,000 foot cliff in search of food. Many of the men became lost or wounded or starved. Some resorted to cannibalism. But all four men who were on the Grafton, lead by Captain Thomas Musgrave, lived to make it home. Their survival depended on Captain Musgrave’s leadership, and the mental and physical skills of all the men. The descriptions and details of the struggles of both of parties is harrowing, and inspiring. Island of the Lost is a well-written, compelling story about adventure, survival, and the history of sea travel.”
— Sarah • Loganberry Books

Summary

Auckland Island is a godforsaken place in the middle of the Southern Ocean, 285 miles south of New Zealand. With year-round freezing rain and howling winds, it is one of the most forbidding places in the world. To be shipwrecked there means almost certain death.

In 1864 Captain Thomas Musgrave and his crew of four aboard the schooner Grafton wreck on the southern end of the island. Utterly alone in a dense coastal forest, plagued by stinging blowflies and relentless rain, Captain Musgrave inspires his men to take action. With barely more than their bare hands, they build a cabin and, remarkably, a forge, where they manufacture their tools.

Incredibly, at the same time on the opposite end of the island, the Invercauld wrecks during a horrible storm. Nineteen men stagger ashore. Unlike Captain Musgrave, the captain of the Invercauld falls apart given the same dismal circumstances. His men fight and split up; some die of starvation, others turn to cannibalism. Only three survive. Musgrave and all of his men not only endure for nearly two years, they also plan their own astonishing escape, setting off on one of the most courageous sea voyages in history.

History Nonfiction