All Over the Page - The Wager: a tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder

This month we will be discussing The Wager: a tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder by David Grann. The discussion will be facilitated by Caroline Lamar.

Grann delivers a concise and riveting account of the HMS Wager, a British man-of-war that ran aground on a barren island off the Chilean coast of Patagonia in 1741. Part of a squadron sent to capture a treasure-laden Spanish galleon during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, the Wager became separated from the other ships while rounding Cape Horn and wrecked several weeks later. The starving crew soon disintegrated into rival factions, including one led by gunner John Bulkeley, who became increasingly critical of Capt. David Cheap. Five months after they’d been marooned, Bulkeley and 80 other crew members commandeered the Wager’s longboat and two other small vessels and set sail for Brazil, abandoning Cheap and his few remaining loyalists to their fate. Fewer than half of Bulkeley’s group survived their nearly 3,000-mile journey through the Strait of Magellan and up the coast of Argentina, but he was treated as a hero, until Cheap miraculously appeared back in England and accused him of mutiny.

Caroline Lamar is the Regional Director for Family Promise National where she supports more than 30 affiliates who serve families experiencing homelessness. She is the daughter of two published authors and has always felt at home when surrounded by books.  Caroline enjoys spending time with her family (husband and three daughters), running on the greenways of East Tennessee, and reading her favorite genre: historical fiction.