The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex

The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex recounts one of the greatest real-life sea adventures of all time. This faithful Warbler Classics edition reproduces First Mate Owen Chase’s riveting original 1821 account of the sinking of the Essex by an enormous whale and the fates that befell her twenty-man crew. Those who survived endured months of stormy seas in small boats, insufferable heat, hopelessness, hunger, and thirst. The gruesome, harrowing tale—full of suspense, surprise, and terror—inspired Herman Melville’s 1851 classic Moby Dick as well multiple film adaptations, including In the Heart of the Sea, directed by Ron Howard, based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s book. 

This annotated edition includes two additional first-hand accounts of the catastrophe, a detailed chronology of events, biographical information on each crew member, and Herman Melville’s notes concerning the Essex. 

OWEN CHASE was the first mate of the Essex. He came from a family of Nantucket mariners.

GEORGE POLLARD JR. was captain of the whalers Essex and Two Brothers, both of which sank. He was a Nantucket native and the son of a ship’s captain.

THOMAS CHAPPEL was a boatsteerer from Plymouth, England. He became a missionary preacher and died of plague fever on Timor island.