In the Heart of the Sea
The Essex struck by a whale — a sketch by Thomas Nickerson
In the Heart of the
Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a book by American writer Nathaniel Philbrick
about the loss of the Whaleship Essex in the Pacific Ocean in 1820. The book
was published by Viking Press on May 8, 2000, and won the 2000 National BookAward for Nonfiction. It is being adapted into a film of the same name,
scheduled for release in 2015.
Contents [hide]
1 Summary
2 Reception
3 Film adaptation
4 See also
5 References
Summary[edit]
The Essex, an American whaleship from Nantucket, sank when
it was attacked by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean in November 1820. Having
lost their ship, the crew of the Essex attempted to sail to South America in
whaleboats. After suffering from starvation and dehydration, most of the crew died
before the survivors were rescued in February 1821.
In retelling the story of the crew's ordeal, Philbrick
utilizes an account written by Thomas Nickerson, who was a teenage cabin boy on
board the Essex and wrote about the experience in his old age; his account was
lost until 1960 but was not authenticated until 1980 before being published,
abridged, in 1984. The book also utilizes the better known account of Owen
Chase, the ship's first mate, which was published soon after the ordeal.[1]
Reception[edit]
In the Heart of the Sea won the 2000 U.S. National Book
Award for Nonfiction.[2]
Film
adaptation[edit]
Main article: In the Heart of the Sea (film)
The story is being adapted into a feature film by director
Ron Howard, starring Chris Hemsworth, Ben Whishaw, and Cillian Murphy.[3]
See also[edit]
Moby-Dick, an 1851 novel by Herman Melville
Ann Alexander, a ship sunk by a whale on August 20, 1851
The Raft of the Medusa, an oil painting of 1818–1819 by the
French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Gericault
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Philbrick, Nathaniel (2001). In the Heart of the
Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Penguin Books. pp. xiv–xv. ISBN
0-14-100182-8.
Jump up ^ "National Book Awards – 2000". National
Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
Jump up ^ Browne, Julie (29 October 2013). "Cillian
Murphy’s ‘Peaky Blinders’ Renewed for a Second Season". The Irish Film
& Television Network.
0 comments:
Post a Comment