The Wreck of the Golden Mary


Read by James E. Carson

(3.9 stars; 29 reviews)

A short story of a ship wreck in 1851 trying to round Cape Horn on its way to the California gold fields. Poignant and well written. ( Summary by JCarson ) (1 hr 20 min)

Chapters

Section 1 45:04 Read by James E. Carson
Section 2 35:12 Read by James E. Carson

Reviews

The Wreck of The Wreck of the Golden Mary


(0 stars)

<br />I listened to this via <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/wreckgoldenmary_jc_librivox" rel="nofollow">LibriVox</a>, which was narrated using the <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1465/1465-h/1465-h.htm" rel="nofollow">Project Gutenberg version</a> apparently. The Gutenberg version has been cut short about half way through, so the LibriVox recording is "abridged" at best, but more likely bowdlerized by some unseen hand long ago. The full unabridged story is available from the original source: the <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/householdwords14dickmiss#page/572/mode/2up" rel="nofollow">1856 copy of <i>Household Words</i> at Internet Archive</a>. Dickens wrote the long intro up to where John Steadiman takes over the narrative, which is then picked up by Wilkie Collins. Other authors contributed the later stories. Dickens envisioned the ship wreck story as being an introductory frame narrative from which to hang other stories written by his team at <i>Household Words</i> magazine: in the frame story, survivors would tell tales to pass the time in the open boats. Overall I found the whole thing confusing and sentimental, and un-Dickens.

(Spoiler Alert)


(0.5 stars)

Nothing happens... the story slowly builds (slowly) and then... the end. Not what I was expecting.

excellent reader


(4 stars)

great narrator but not Dickens' best. gives new meaning to "cliff hanger."