The Wreck of the Medusa by Jonathan Miles
The Wreck of the Medusa is Jonathan Miles's spellbinding account of the most famous shipwreck before the Titanic. Drawing on contemporaneously published accounts and journals of survivors, Miles brilliantly reconstructs the ill-fated voyage and the events that inspired Theodore Gericault's magnificent painting The Raft of the Medusa. In July of 1816, the French frigate Medusa, bound for the Senegalese port colony of Saint Louis under the command of an incompetent royalist captain, hit a famously treacherous reef. In the chaos that ensued, the commander and a privileged few claimed the lifeboats. The rest were herded onto a makeshift raft and set adrift. Without a compass or many provisions, hit by a vicious storm the first night and exposed to sweltering heat during the following days, the group set upon each other: mayhem, mutiny, and murder ensued. When rescue arrived thirteen days later, only fifteen were alive. Two survivors' written account of the tragedy became an international best seller that exposed far-reaching corruption in Restoration France. The scandal inspired a young artist, Theodore Gericault, whose iconic depiction of suffering and hope won first prize at the Salon of 1819 and captivated viewers in the Louvre for centuries to come.
Miles, Jonathan: - Cultural historian Jonathan Miles has a personal engagement with St. Petersburg and its people that dates back to the Soviet era. Born in a trunk, Jonathan spent his childhood in America and Canada and currently lives in Paris. Graduating magna cum laude from University College, London, he received his doctorate from Jesus College, Oxford. Early books include studies of British artists Eric Gill and David Jones. His Wreck of the Medusa--currently under option for a full-length motion picture--is a voyage through the artistic, political and moral clashes of Restoration France. The New York Times called it 'enthrallingly recounted. The narrative is brilliantly meted out. His Nine Lives of Otto Katz--the tale of a flamboyant Soviet intriguer and spy--was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as unique among accounts of that world. Visit him at jonathanmiles.net.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780802143921 |
| ISBN 10 | 080214392X |
| Title | The Wreck of the Medusa |
| Author | Jonathan Miles |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Black Cat |
| Year published | 2008-11-01 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |