The emigrant ship William and Mary departed from Liverpool with 208 British, Irish, and Dutch emigrants in early 1853. Captained by young American Timothy Stinson, the vessel was sailing for New Orleans when the ship wrecked in the Bahamas in mysterious circumstances. Instead of grounding the ship on a nearby shore or building rafts for the passengers, Stinson and the majority of his crew sneaked away in lifeboats – murdering at least two of the emigrants with a hatchet as they did so – and reported the ship sunk with all on board lost. But the passengers kept the ship afloat and two days later were rescued by heroic wreckers as the ship went down. Now, over 160 years on, the tale of the two murdered in Bahamian waters and the hundreds who escaped thanks to kindly wreckers can finally be told. Stinson is no longer getting away with murder.

The Lost Story of the William and Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson

History

Hoffs, Gill

Military

Pen and Sword Maritime

“The ship was almost instantly in flames … Some jumped overboard immediately, and all was in indescribable confusion. The masts began to fall one after another, and it is supposed killed great numbers by their descent. Others, it is feared, were roasted alive, but the majority were drowned.” (Hull Advertiser and Exchange Gazette, 25 August 1848)The Ocean Monarch was only a few hours out of Liverpool on 24 August 1848 when a cabin passenger shouted “Fire!” and all hell broke loose. Bound for Boston with almost 400 people on board, the emigrant ship was soon ablaze with little chance of putting the flames out. People watched helplessly from their cottages along the Welsh coast as some ships ignored the travellers’ plight while others raced to their aid. On the 170th anniversary of the disaster Gill Hoffs reveals the full story of this forgotten wreck, including tales of French royalty, an American artist, and a courageous stewardess who gave her life to save her fellow travellers. Discover what happened to the passengers and crew, including:James K. Fellows, a kindly American jeweller trying to get home to his familyJotham Bragdon, the first mate who fled the wreck then returned to shore a heroMary Walter and her mysterious ‘family’, escaping danger in London only to find greater peril lay at seaFollow the murder trial of a crew of rescuers and find out the real fate of their ‘victim’ – and whether the mysterious Irish toddler ‘Kate’ found her family again.

The Lost Story of the Ocean Monarch

Pen and Sword History

The moment they fell into the water the waves caught them and dashed them violently against the rocks, and the survivors on shore could perceive the unfortunate creatures...struggling amidst the waves, and one by one sinking under them.' (Hereford Times, 28 January 1854) The wrecking of the RMS Tayleur made headlines nearly 60 years before the Titanic. Both were run by the White Star Line, both were heralded as the most splendid ships of their time – and both sank in tragic circumstances on their maiden voyages. On 19 January 1854 the Tayleur, a large merchant vessel, left Liverpool for Australia; packed with hopeful emigrants, her hold stuffed with cargo. On the 160th anniversary of the disaster, Gill Hoffs reveals new theories behind the disaster and tells the stories of the passengers and crew on the ill-fated vessel: Captain John Noble, record breaking hero of the Gold Rush era. Ship surgeon Robert Hannay Cunningham and his young family, on their way to a new life among the prospectors of Tent City. Samuel Carby, ex-convict, returning to the gold fields with his new wife – and a fortune sewn into her corsets. But the ship's revolutionary iron hull prevented its compasses from working. Lost in the Irish Sea, a storm swept the Tayleur and the 650 people aboard towards a cliff, studded with rocks ‘black as death’. What happened next shocked the world.

The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the Victorian Titanic

Europe

"Wild offers exceptional fiction and reportage, with a coast-dweller's sharp eye for maritime detail, and a humane regard for both the victims and the survivors of shipwrecks, both literal and metaphorical. From 'Prospects', a marvellous, moving reconstruction of the murderous maiden voyage of the Tayleur, to 'Luck is in the Leftovers', a gripping saga of living on the edge of the land, where life and death ebb and flow like the tides. Gill Hoffs' writing, fiction and non, swells with the power of life, sometimes life at the expense of other lives, but always animated and alive. This is visceral and vital prose, smooth as a sea-worn pebble yet sharp as sharks' teeth." - Ronnie Scott, author of Death by Design and editor of 'Tommy's War', 'Tommy's Peace' and 'The Real 'Dads' Army''

Wild: a collection

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

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The Lost Story of the William and Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson

The Lost Story of the Ocean Monarch

The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the Victorian Titanic

Wild: a collection