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The Wreck of the Medusa: The Most Famous Sea Disaster of the Nineteenth Century
The Wreck of the Medusa is a spellbinding account of the most famous shipwreck before the Titanic, a tragedy that riled a nation and inspired Théodore Géricault’s magnificent painting The Raft of the Medusa . In June 1816, the flagship of a French expedition to repossess a colony in Senegal from the British set sail. She never arrived at her destination; her incompetent captain Hugo de Chaumareys, ignoring telltale signs of shallow waters, plowed the ship into a famously treacherous sandbar. A privileged few claimed the lifeboats while 146 men and one woman were herded aboard 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. Meanwhile, those in the boats who made it to shore undertook a dangerous two-hundred-mile slog through the desert. Among the handful of survivors from the raft were two men whose written account of the fiasco became a bestseller that rocked France’s political foundations and provided graphic fodder for Géricault’s world-famous painting.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
May 14, 2009
The shipwreck story is fascinating, and the refresher in French history post-revolution is good, but the writing of the book feels overblown, and it spends too much time, in my mind, on the painting and its artist. The story of the wreck itself is brutal and engaging - I didn't need the florid language (the screaming sun, a world beyond the bloodstained borders of their raft, etc)- but then it felt pretty much dropped for the bulk of the book, as we followed one survivor's political agitations and the process of the artist painting the canvas to commemorate the event.
March 24, 2014
While I wasn't always crazy about this author's turn of phrase - it often felt heavy-handed to me - I must give him credit for keeping his narrative threads pithy. I appreciated that he really kept things moving along, which must have been a challenge considering how many interesting aspects there are to this story. Previously my only exposure to this story was from a few slides in a college Art History class, and my knowledge of early 18th c. European history is weak. The Medusa was THE tabloid scandal of its era, with supercharged social, political and historic ramifications. A flashpoint that exposed the incompetence of the old order in a time when France had not yet shrugged off royal rule, it also made the career of a tragic young artist (Gericault) and became a soapbox for Liberal and Abolitionist leaders to stand on and point out horrific policies and abuses of power. A solid and extremely interesting look at a historic event, with plenty of the arts and culture of the time to add fine context.
Now I need to find a good book on Napoleon, because I find myself really mystified by that character...
Now I need to find a good book on Napoleon, because I find myself really mystified by that character...
September 30, 2012
This is one messed up story!! The fate of these people will disgust you. The whole "captain goes down with the ship" routine is completely disregarded and a lot of innocent people perish because of a fool having control of their fate. This a book about stupidity and cowardly actions. A complete disregard for others welfare. It is an amazing story and well written. If you enjoy maritime history this is a must have. The story of the Medusa and her fate is definitely a unique and strange tale. As well as tragic and maddening.
August 29, 2010
2009 review:
Well, it took me a while to read this book-it was more academic than most "fun" reads. Non-fiction, about a ship voyage that was led by a captain the French Monarchy had appointed because of his merit, or as a political favor, and not because he was actually qualified at all. He ran the ship into shallow water, the rich and choice few took the few amount of life boats available, didn't fill them to capacity and left 200+ people on a raft that couldn't stay afloat with hardly any food, water, etc. Long story short, there was mutiny and cannibalism on the raft and only 13 survived, most of which died in the hospital or shortly after. 2 of the survivors wrote books, with the intention of pointing out how bad the current government was, etc.-the artist Gericault met with the authors and survivors and painting a famous painting of the raft, which is why I learned about the Medusa in the first place.
This book was different than I expected it to be-I really liked the attention given to the painter, Gericault, (except I had done so much research on him, there were definitely interesting things I would've included in the book had I written it. :p I did learn things, too, though.) And I enjoyed the chapters about the wreck of the ship and the direct aftermath/struggles. What I found boring was the too long overview of the French Revolution which I already knew plenty about, and how long the book went on for waaaaaay after much to do about the shipwreck was being discussed-it went on to talk all about more political things-like the battle for the abolition of slavery, etc., which wasn't all that pertinent to the Medusa shipwreck-a couple paragraphs would've explained how it fit in, instead of a very, very long chapter.
Since the barbarity of what happened on the ship and what desperate humans will do is what really interests me about this story, I wanted more elaboration on that story-there was some, but really only one chapter-I wanted that to be almost the whole book. I didn't find out much I didn't already know, except for the fate of the people on one of the lifeboats (which was pretty interesting too-they had their own tough times washing up on enemy desert land).
Anyways, I don't think this book would be very interested to someone who wasn't originally interested in the shipwreck, the French revolution and political state, and Gericault the artist...but, I certainly don't regret reading it. :p For what I wanted out of it, it was slightly disappointing, but not hugely.
Well, it took me a while to read this book-it was more academic than most "fun" reads. Non-fiction, about a ship voyage that was led by a captain the French Monarchy had appointed because of his merit, or as a political favor, and not because he was actually qualified at all. He ran the ship into shallow water, the rich and choice few took the few amount of life boats available, didn't fill them to capacity and left 200+ people on a raft that couldn't stay afloat with hardly any food, water, etc. Long story short, there was mutiny and cannibalism on the raft and only 13 survived, most of which died in the hospital or shortly after. 2 of the survivors wrote books, with the intention of pointing out how bad the current government was, etc.-the artist Gericault met with the authors and survivors and painting a famous painting of the raft, which is why I learned about the Medusa in the first place.
This book was different than I expected it to be-I really liked the attention given to the painter, Gericault, (except I had done so much research on him, there were definitely interesting things I would've included in the book had I written it. :p I did learn things, too, though.) And I enjoyed the chapters about the wreck of the ship and the direct aftermath/struggles. What I found boring was the too long overview of the French Revolution which I already knew plenty about, and how long the book went on for waaaaaay after much to do about the shipwreck was being discussed-it went on to talk all about more political things-like the battle for the abolition of slavery, etc., which wasn't all that pertinent to the Medusa shipwreck-a couple paragraphs would've explained how it fit in, instead of a very, very long chapter.
Since the barbarity of what happened on the ship and what desperate humans will do is what really interests me about this story, I wanted more elaboration on that story-there was some, but really only one chapter-I wanted that to be almost the whole book. I didn't find out much I didn't already know, except for the fate of the people on one of the lifeboats (which was pretty interesting too-they had their own tough times washing up on enemy desert land).
Anyways, I don't think this book would be very interested to someone who wasn't originally interested in the shipwreck, the French revolution and political state, and Gericault the artist...but, I certainly don't regret reading it. :p For what I wanted out of it, it was slightly disappointing, but not hugely.
October 25, 2010
For those of you not familiar wuth the event, the 1816 wreck of the Medusa was by far the most infamous shipwreck of the 19th Century. The tale of the shipwreck itself is rather lurid. An incompetent commander placed in charge of a French warship for reasons of having the right politics, though almost thirty years removed from his last stint in the navy. An avoidable grounding due to naviagational error. A bungled evacuation of survivors by a command only interested insaving itself. The usual horrors of survival on a desert shore and cannibalism at sea. An attempt by the government to cover-up the true scope of its complicity in those horrors.
It's in that last sentence where this book really takes off. The wreck, more importantly the government's responsibility and its efforts at cover-up, became a touchstone for dissidents in post-Napoleonic France. It was a time when France was wracked by a three-way political division not unlike that of our modern United States. There were conventional GOP-ish conservatives in support of the then-ruling constitutional monarchy. There were the neo-con utlra-royalists who wanted take the monarchy back to the absolute power the nobility enjoyed 30 years ago, before the French Revolution. There were the diverse and poorly organized liberals who wanted to secure all the to equality and liberty that had come out of the revolution. This event stabbed right into the heart of their struggle, an ulimately played a role in bring in the republic.
The author reveals a passion for the topic of official misconduct and those who stand against it. We are treated to a lively discussion of the political events that followed the wreck, and are treated to biographies of many of the key players. Some are wreck survivors who themselves dissident writers and publishers as a result of their experiences. One is an artist who pioneers the practice of political dissent through art by producing a painting that helped an end to art's neo-classical period. Their tales are chock full of scandal and intrigue.
This is one of those rare books that invites an almost immediate reread to pick up on the details missed on the first pass through.
It's in that last sentence where this book really takes off. The wreck, more importantly the government's responsibility and its efforts at cover-up, became a touchstone for dissidents in post-Napoleonic France. It was a time when France was wracked by a three-way political division not unlike that of our modern United States. There were conventional GOP-ish conservatives in support of the then-ruling constitutional monarchy. There were the neo-con utlra-royalists who wanted take the monarchy back to the absolute power the nobility enjoyed 30 years ago, before the French Revolution. There were the diverse and poorly organized liberals who wanted to secure all the to equality and liberty that had come out of the revolution. This event stabbed right into the heart of their struggle, an ulimately played a role in bring in the republic.
The author reveals a passion for the topic of official misconduct and those who stand against it. We are treated to a lively discussion of the political events that followed the wreck, and are treated to biographies of many of the key players. Some are wreck survivors who themselves dissident writers and publishers as a result of their experiences. One is an artist who pioneers the practice of political dissent through art by producing a painting that helped an end to art's neo-classical period. Their tales are chock full of scandal and intrigue.
This is one of those rare books that invites an almost immediate reread to pick up on the details missed on the first pass through.
January 2, 2021
A well-told double history of the most notorious shipwreck before the Titanic, the 1816 wreck of a French frigate due to the incompetence of its politically connected captain, who then took the ship's few lifeboats and fled without many of its passengers, and also a famous painting inspired by that wreck. Those abandoned by the Medusa's captain endured a miserable hell, especially the more than 100 people left floating in the Atlantic on a makeshift, overcrowded raft: most of them died, whether washed overboard, or killed in waves of murderous infighting; the starving survivors ate the flesh of the dead before they were finally rescued.
The incident was memorialized by painter Théodore Géricault in his famous "The Raft of the Medusa," and Miles interweaves the dramatic story of the shipwreck with Géricault's life, which was full of a very different kind of drama: a torrid love affair with his own aunt (by marriage). Both strands come together as Géricault, having a sort of breakdown, paints his masterpiece, which is caught up in the tense politics of the Bourbon Restoration, the rivalry between France and Britain, and the growing controversy over slavery, as well as the burgeoning Romantic movement.
Obviously the emotional turmoil of a rich-kid painter isn't quite on the same level as desperation on the high seas, and the wrap together the story of the wreck with the story of the painting isn't always entirely successful, but this is a mere quibble about a fascinating and largely forgotten story, wrapped up with big context and art analysis, and all in a quick, easily readable book.
The incident was memorialized by painter Théodore Géricault in his famous "The Raft of the Medusa," and Miles interweaves the dramatic story of the shipwreck with Géricault's life, which was full of a very different kind of drama: a torrid love affair with his own aunt (by marriage). Both strands come together as Géricault, having a sort of breakdown, paints his masterpiece, which is caught up in the tense politics of the Bourbon Restoration, the rivalry between France and Britain, and the growing controversy over slavery, as well as the burgeoning Romantic movement.
Obviously the emotional turmoil of a rich-kid painter isn't quite on the same level as desperation on the high seas, and the wrap together the story of the wreck with the story of the painting isn't always entirely successful, but this is a mere quibble about a fascinating and largely forgotten story, wrapped up with big context and art analysis, and all in a quick, easily readable book.
January 7, 2021
I loved this book!
The story of the wreck is evocatively told, with full context of the French restoration and it's political implications. This is also tied in to the creation of a masterpiece of romantic art, based around the Medusa disaster.
The "characters" are fully drawn, with their backgrounds explored to try to explain the communication breakdown that occured and the resultant catastrophe, as well as how they reacted to the hellish situation they found themselves in.
Absolutely brilliant read, highly recommended!
The story of the wreck is evocatively told, with full context of the French restoration and it's political implications. This is also tied in to the creation of a masterpiece of romantic art, based around the Medusa disaster.
The "characters" are fully drawn, with their backgrounds explored to try to explain the communication breakdown that occured and the resultant catastrophe, as well as how they reacted to the hellish situation they found themselves in.
Absolutely brilliant read, highly recommended!
February 22, 2019
I would agree with some of the other reviews. The story of the raft is engaging, entertaining, and brings up deep issues of man’s inhumanity to man. The story of the artist is interesting in that like many other talented artists he has deep psychological dysfunction. Unfortunately too much time is spent on the artist life and the lives of individuals in post Bonaparte France.
December 29, 2019
It was an interested read, and well written. However, I only managed to get 2/3rds of the way through it because after the wreck business is over, the book turns to the effects of the wreck on the politics of France etc.... just not interesting to me.
September 19, 2024
'The Wreck of the Medusa' is a very interesting book and larger in scope than I had expected. I have always been fascinated by the large, dramatic painting that hangs in the Louvre and I wanted to learn the full story.
The book follows three, intertwined leads: the wreck of the Medusa ship, the eventful life of the most famous survivor and the creation of the painting. The story of the wreckage occupies less than half of the book lenght and yet it is a most poignat tale, based on the often contrasting accounts of the survivors. Alexandre Corréard, one of the few people getting out alive of the raft so famosuly depicted by Théodore Géricault came back to France and fought to establish the truth, challenging the government of France and the officers that had cowardly abandoned him and the others to their destiny. Last, Géricault, leading a troubled life and fighting his own mental disorder, set to portray the tragedy of the Medusa wreck for everybody to marvel at.
These three leads are majestically fused together and the author immerses us in the political atmosphere of the time: the aftermath of the tragedy threatened to undermine the very foundations of the ruling class of the time.
I think that the choice of intermingling history, biographies and history of art was a very happy one. After all, I think that the story of the Medusa would have been largely forgotten had it not been for Géricault's painting. We can really delve into the turmoil of one of the most eventful period of french history. I did not expect to learn so much and be so greatly entertained. A highly reccomended read!
The book follows three, intertwined leads: the wreck of the Medusa ship, the eventful life of the most famous survivor and the creation of the painting. The story of the wreckage occupies less than half of the book lenght and yet it is a most poignat tale, based on the often contrasting accounts of the survivors. Alexandre Corréard, one of the few people getting out alive of the raft so famosuly depicted by Théodore Géricault came back to France and fought to establish the truth, challenging the government of France and the officers that had cowardly abandoned him and the others to their destiny. Last, Géricault, leading a troubled life and fighting his own mental disorder, set to portray the tragedy of the Medusa wreck for everybody to marvel at.
These three leads are majestically fused together and the author immerses us in the political atmosphere of the time: the aftermath of the tragedy threatened to undermine the very foundations of the ruling class of the time.
I think that the choice of intermingling history, biographies and history of art was a very happy one. After all, I think that the story of the Medusa would have been largely forgotten had it not been for Géricault's painting. We can really delve into the turmoil of one of the most eventful period of french history. I did not expect to learn so much and be so greatly entertained. A highly reccomended read!
July 6, 2018
A haunting, horrific tale of corruption and selfish ambition that lead to one of the most notorious sea disasters of the 19th century best described by author himself as:
The only lighthearted note to the story is found in a few brief pages about the British obsession with a tale that so obviously portrayed their recent maritime enemies in a poor light.
However, these lighthearted moments are scant in a grander tale of death, murder, and a country reeling from bloody revolution and political extremism.
...an avoidable catastrophe...in which the villains are obvious, heroes are few, and the chroniclers are not altogether to be trusted.It is also a fascinating blend of the politics, history, and drama indirectly responsible for the shipwreck that gave birth to one of the most famous paintings in history, The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault, as well as a dawning new era of abolitionism in Europe.
The only lighthearted note to the story is found in a few brief pages about the British obsession with a tale that so obviously portrayed their recent maritime enemies in a poor light.
The part played by Major Peddie, whose kindness to Corréard when he had been hospitalized in Senegal stood in such heartwarming contrast to the callous indifference of the French leaders, endeared the saga to the British. The English relished a scandal that revealed weaknesses in French administration and the lack of discipline and moral fiber in their navy. French ineptitude reflected advantageously on English competence...
However, these lighthearted moments are scant in a grander tale of death, murder, and a country reeling from bloody revolution and political extremism.
August 19, 2025
I usually love shipwreck stories but this one was a drag. Too many asides about napoleon and the bourbons
March 28, 2010
The Wreck of the Medusa is a shipwreck story not for the faint of heart. A recolonization of Senegal by the French is the expedition's purpose, so the Medusa was not only carrying crew, but colonists as well. Her incompetent captain, who won his post because of his continuous loyalty to the French monarchy during Napoleon's reign, grounds his ship in 5 feet of water in rocky shoals off the coast of Africa. The decision to abandon ship comes with dire consequences. There are not enough boats for everyone on board. The new governor of Senegal has one, the captain takes another and the first mate takes another. The rest of the crew is loaded onto the last two boats. A raft is constructed for the colonists which would be towed to shore by the five boats. (Over 30 men are left on the Medusa as well). Soon the raft becomes cumbersome and threatens to pull the boats under. A decision is made to cut it loose.
From there the story gets even more harrowing. The raft is adrift with nothing to guide it. Three of the boats reach shore, but their provisions are not adequate for the African desert. The other two boats land north of the others and both stories of the treks of these two parties to safety involve the constant thirst for water, fear of slavers and the unbelievable luck of stumbling across a European adventurer who had lived in the area for years.
The raft is eventually rescued, but by that time only nine out of over one hundred twenty-five souls have survived the ordeal at the hands of their fellow passengers and the unforgiving sea. But the story does not end with the rescue. Political ramifications will follow the wreck of the Medusa back at home in France as well.
The story of the Medusa is a ghastly one. The subtitle of the "Most Famous Sea Disaster of the Nineteenth Century" is well warranted.
From there the story gets even more harrowing. The raft is adrift with nothing to guide it. Three of the boats reach shore, but their provisions are not adequate for the African desert. The other two boats land north of the others and both stories of the treks of these two parties to safety involve the constant thirst for water, fear of slavers and the unbelievable luck of stumbling across a European adventurer who had lived in the area for years.
The raft is eventually rescued, but by that time only nine out of over one hundred twenty-five souls have survived the ordeal at the hands of their fellow passengers and the unforgiving sea. But the story does not end with the rescue. Political ramifications will follow the wreck of the Medusa back at home in France as well.
The story of the Medusa is a ghastly one. The subtitle of the "Most Famous Sea Disaster of the Nineteenth Century" is well warranted.
June 9, 2015
Highly enjoyable tale that happens to also be true. A successful melding of post-Revolution French history, art history, a page-turning thriller, and socio-economic issues of class, race, and post-colonialism that echo through today. I found his literary device masterful in weaving this amazing tale and all of its underpinnings into the fabric of Gericault's canvas. The events and the surrounding politics directly informed the artistic process. And there's a cameo appearance by the tubercle bacillus (and other infectious scourges) and the noted physician Dupuytren and Napoleon himself and the great navies of the day!
It wasn't perfect, mind you. I could have used a few more maps to give greater context to the African landscape. And the French names were challenging with the likes of Lieutenant Espiaux and Ensign Lapeyrere and Alexandre Correard.... these made to sound easy by the likes of Gicquel des Touches, Charlotte-Adelaide Picard, Charles-Marie Bedif, Leon Henry de Parnajon, Francis-Marie Cornette de Venancourt, and the villainous Hughes Duroy de Chaumareys... particularly when they divide up into small boats and the narrative jumps around (out of necessity). Alas. And given this potential for name/boat confusion I think the book, in places, would have benefited from a more simple sentence structure (run-on sentences with modifiers bog you down like a hastily built raft in unfavorable West African tides). He also should have cut the last 5-10 pages, instead curiously choosing to elaborate on far peripheral characters and some of the off-spring.... I couldn't have cared a lick... better to have a strong and tight summation after the main characters' lives resolved, rather than this lackluster coda... a minor complaint, for sure.... at it's heart it is a terrific story... and if you love art history, you won't be disappointed....
It wasn't perfect, mind you. I could have used a few more maps to give greater context to the African landscape. And the French names were challenging with the likes of Lieutenant Espiaux and Ensign Lapeyrere and Alexandre Correard.... these made to sound easy by the likes of Gicquel des Touches, Charlotte-Adelaide Picard, Charles-Marie Bedif, Leon Henry de Parnajon, Francis-Marie Cornette de Venancourt, and the villainous Hughes Duroy de Chaumareys... particularly when they divide up into small boats and the narrative jumps around (out of necessity). Alas. And given this potential for name/boat confusion I think the book, in places, would have benefited from a more simple sentence structure (run-on sentences with modifiers bog you down like a hastily built raft in unfavorable West African tides). He also should have cut the last 5-10 pages, instead curiously choosing to elaborate on far peripheral characters and some of the off-spring.... I couldn't have cared a lick... better to have a strong and tight summation after the main characters' lives resolved, rather than this lackluster coda... a minor complaint, for sure.... at it's heart it is a terrific story... and if you love art history, you won't be disappointed....
January 31, 2016
What is it about this book that just didn't click for me? I love the painting, and the chaos of Restoration France? Fascinating.
The biggest flaw is how this book was assembled as a parallel narrative, a biography of the painter and the survivor of the raft who eventually met and allied themselves against the ultra-royalists. That story that just never gelled. Why do authors keep trying that parallel narrative technique? It almost never succeeds. Here this plays out as one story getting rolling, the Medusa is sailing to certain doom, and the thread is interrupted my a chapter about the artist as a young man in a tither about the affair he is having with his aunt. This is distracting and is only offered for the sake of equal time on each biographic thread.
That is the other problem. Essentially Miles had very little to build with from a biographic standpoint, so when he wrote about Géricault all he had to talk about was his obsessive love for his aunt, and speculations about their sex life. Similarly, he had little to say about Corréard, whose life is only explained in the details given in his narrative of the wreck, and then all that follows is a list of legal records. This is thin soup to nourish the reader. A lot is said about how this painting shook the foundations of Restoration France, but we are given very little evidence that it did anything other than win a gold medal at the 1819 salon.
Badly composed and shallowly presented.
The biggest flaw is how this book was assembled as a parallel narrative, a biography of the painter and the survivor of the raft who eventually met and allied themselves against the ultra-royalists. That story that just never gelled. Why do authors keep trying that parallel narrative technique? It almost never succeeds. Here this plays out as one story getting rolling, the Medusa is sailing to certain doom, and the thread is interrupted my a chapter about the artist as a young man in a tither about the affair he is having with his aunt. This is distracting and is only offered for the sake of equal time on each biographic thread.
That is the other problem. Essentially Miles had very little to build with from a biographic standpoint, so when he wrote about Géricault all he had to talk about was his obsessive love for his aunt, and speculations about their sex life. Similarly, he had little to say about Corréard, whose life is only explained in the details given in his narrative of the wreck, and then all that follows is a list of legal records. This is thin soup to nourish the reader. A lot is said about how this painting shook the foundations of Restoration France, but we are given very little evidence that it did anything other than win a gold medal at the 1819 salon.
Badly composed and shallowly presented.
August 5, 2012
Thoroughly researched, well-told account of the infamous early 19th-century shipwreck of a French colonial vessel off AFrica's Atlantic coast. Miles cleverly weaves it with an account of the painting by Gericault that immortalised (if not quite accurately) the most infamous part of the wreck's aftermath, the raft -- set adrift by heedless officers and government officials -- of whose 150 passengers some 90 percent died, and survivors resorted to murder and cannibalism. The book also follows the less gruesome fate of wreck survivors who got to land more quickly and had to travel a couple hundred miles on foot. The book's first half is highly compelling; the second half, which deals with survivors' efforts to bring the story to light and the perpetrators to justice, and Gericault's path to completing the famous painting, is perhaps inevitably less so. Most interesting for history buffs might well be the politcal backdrop to the story, having to do with post-Napoleonic monarchial restoration in France. Sounds insidery -- but it was the regime's appointment of poorly qualified captain, a friend of the ancien regime, that likely led to the disaster in the first place. And the poor leadership definitely was the cause of the tragic handling of the wreck. Ultimately, a survival story, but also a book about why politics matters.
February 19, 2018
The Wreck of The Medusa.
If only the author had read a book I recently devoured about the General Slocum Steamboat Disaster by Edward T. O’Donnell because I feel that this book would have benefitted from a more similar style.
The only thing I enjoyed about this book was learning about what had happened on the raft and in the desert, although those chapters were a little confusing to read at times. Everything else just seems like a cacophony of random information, poorly put into chapters. It would highly of aided from a different editor.
Usually, a painting of a tragic event follows the tragic event. It outlines it, makes it into something more accessible to the people who were not there. But the author of this book seems to think that the painting, or rather the painter, is more important than the event. That the politics are more important than the event. The victims are named once, maybe twice, and then forgotten for talks of Napoleon and the monarchy.
It is a bit disgraceful to the memory of the people who had died, and their families.
2/5, will seek a better book on this event to review.
If only the author had read a book I recently devoured about the General Slocum Steamboat Disaster by Edward T. O’Donnell because I feel that this book would have benefitted from a more similar style.
The only thing I enjoyed about this book was learning about what had happened on the raft and in the desert, although those chapters were a little confusing to read at times. Everything else just seems like a cacophony of random information, poorly put into chapters. It would highly of aided from a different editor.
Usually, a painting of a tragic event follows the tragic event. It outlines it, makes it into something more accessible to the people who were not there. But the author of this book seems to think that the painting, or rather the painter, is more important than the event. That the politics are more important than the event. The victims are named once, maybe twice, and then forgotten for talks of Napoleon and the monarchy.
It is a bit disgraceful to the memory of the people who had died, and their families.
2/5, will seek a better book on this event to review.
September 17, 2019
Miles weaves together the stories of the shipwreck of the Medusa and the painting of The Raft OF The Medusa, the masterpiece it inspired. He relates the incompetence and criminal decisions that led to the wreck and to the substantial loss of life that followed, and the tribulations faced by the survivors in reaching their destination of Senegal by land. He traces the life of Alexandre Correard, a survivor of the shipwreck and raft, who worked tirelessly after returning to France in opposition to the monarchy and the slave trade. And Miles tells the fascinating story of the painter of The Raft Of The Medusa, and shows how Gericault researched in order to produce a truly magnificent painting. Throughout, Miles' work reads like a novel.
June 7, 2020
They style of writing was not for someone expecting a detailed story of the events of the Medusa. The book is written as what feels as numerous ministories in attempts to make a deep web of interconnection to show the larger picture and story at hand.
Cons- too much time and detailed spent on the French revolution, the artists life and numerous series of events revolving around his painting, the political aftermath of the survivors from the wreck.
Pros: learning about above facts and events were intresting. The account of the raft and shipwreck was what I wanted and more detail of it.
Mixed feelings in this one however the writting style was not for me.
Cons- too much time and detailed spent on the French revolution, the artists life and numerous series of events revolving around his painting, the political aftermath of the survivors from the wreck.
Pros: learning about above facts and events were intresting. The account of the raft and shipwreck was what I wanted and more detail of it.
Mixed feelings in this one however the writting style was not for me.
May 11, 2017
Having seen this painting in the Louvre, I was interested in the story behind it, the real-life shipwreck of the Medusa, on its way from France to Senegal. A nice, gruesome story of incompetence, bad behavior, and people-in-dire-straits, but the shipwreck story was only a portion of the book. There was a lot on the life of Gericault the painter--quite interesting because of his doomed romance--and on the life of Correard, one of the more famous survivors (not as interesting to me because of the boring politics).
October 2, 2025
The wreck of the Medusa was not simply famous, it was infamous, but inspired one of the greatest paintings ever produced, it eviscerated the fatuous pomposeties of the restored Bourbon regime and held a mirror to the bankruptcy of restoration France.
This book is brilliant and I recommend the review from the UK Guardian when it was first published:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
This book is brilliant and I recommend the review from the UK Guardian when it was first published:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
May 28, 2025
This book is having an identity crisis. Is it about the wreck of the Medusa? About the painting of the wreck? About the painter of the painting about the wreck? About one of the subjects in the painting? About French politics in the early 1800s? About transatlantic slavery?
After spending 125 pages on the shipwreck, the chapters go literally everywhere. Seems really disjointed. Disappointing
After spending 125 pages on the shipwreck, the chapters go literally everywhere. Seems really disjointed. Disappointing
October 27, 2022
Until I retired from teaching art history, I presenting Theodore Gericault's "The Raft of the Medusa" (1819) at least once a semester to some class or other. I love the painting. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was 17 and on my Louvre day while I was visiting family friends in Paris. I was stunned by the size, disturbed by the dark tonality, and confused by the story.
When the French Romantic painters became better known to me, I found myself struggling with a way to reconcile the Classical values of the technique and composition and the startling immediacy of the subject matter. Today, were I given another chance to teach, I'd dump most of my lecture notes for Romanticism and focus entirely on a comparison of Gericault's "Raft" and Eugene Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People" (1830). I would spend a great deal less time on formal analysis and a great deal more time on how these two men found a way to create a masterpiece of art that was also a statement of their times and politics.
I wasn't familiar with the author, Jonathan Miles, so I googled him. And found out very darned little. Here's what his Simon & Schuster page offered:
'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.'
"Born in a trunk"? Hmmmm.
He's clearly a writer of Romantic sensibility. Seems to be a historian. Certainly he is not an art historian, for if he were, we would have spent a great deal more time analyzing the composition of the painting, the stages of its development, the models Gericault kept in mind.
Rather, this book is about how the painting was part of a zeitgeist. It is like the simplest, clearest and most compelling summary of the political and social circumstances in France roughly from the time of the Bourbon Restoration under Louis XVIII (1814 following Napoleon's fall and exile to Elba), through the Hundred Days, to the hard swing to the right with the accession of Louis' brother, Charles X, in 1824. This narrative focuses not simply the raft and the poor souls doomed to it, but on the voyage of the whole convoy. The Medusa was the flagship of an expedition that included the Echo, the Loire and the Argus. There were a number of reasons passengers were headed to Senegal, but one way or another, most expected to benefit from the transfer of power over that nation from England to France.
As Miles begins his tale he assembles an extraordinary cast--spoiler alert--most of whom survived the wreck and subsequent tribulations. This is the core of the story. While Gericault is introduced at the beginning and his complicated love affair with his aunt-by-marriage Alexandrine is presented, substantive discussion of the painting itself is delayed until more than halfway through the book. First the expedition must founder, horrible events must take place, extraordinary political machinations must complicate many lives, and at least a few survivors must make their ways back to France.
Miles does a masterful job juggling a multitude story lines and subplots without losing track of the artist, the painting, and the meaning of such a work at that fraught historical moment. The book reads in parts like a thriller and each of us must establish our own sense of the good guys, bad guys, and the forces that brought all this about. At the end, Miles provides a sort of coda that explains what ultimately happened to the survivors whose stories and agendas were so mismatched.
On a side note: at this difficult moment with the 2022 midterm election only a couple weeks away, I found myself struck by parallels between the resurgence of the Ultras, the extreme Right in French society in the first three decades of the 19th century, and the burgeoning power of the QAnon-fueled plans of Donald Trump's followers and the Fascistic nature of the Christian Evangelicals who see events through a dismal screen of religious extremism.
Apparently someone optioned the book for a film, but it seemed to have slipped by me. Some information is available online. https://www.screendaily.com/news/jess... The summary, however suggests that the adaptation of the book to film was, to be kind, extremely "free."
I truly enjoy the book. My husband bought a copy because he was interested in the historic event for some project he is working on. When he had finished, of course I had to read it.
When the French Romantic painters became better known to me, I found myself struggling with a way to reconcile the Classical values of the technique and composition and the startling immediacy of the subject matter. Today, were I given another chance to teach, I'd dump most of my lecture notes for Romanticism and focus entirely on a comparison of Gericault's "Raft" and Eugene Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People" (1830). I would spend a great deal less time on formal analysis and a great deal more time on how these two men found a way to create a masterpiece of art that was also a statement of their times and politics.
I wasn't familiar with the author, Jonathan Miles, so I googled him. And found out very darned little. Here's what his Simon & Schuster page offered:
'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.'
"Born in a trunk"? Hmmmm.
He's clearly a writer of Romantic sensibility. Seems to be a historian. Certainly he is not an art historian, for if he were, we would have spent a great deal more time analyzing the composition of the painting, the stages of its development, the models Gericault kept in mind.
Rather, this book is about how the painting was part of a zeitgeist. It is like the simplest, clearest and most compelling summary of the political and social circumstances in France roughly from the time of the Bourbon Restoration under Louis XVIII (1814 following Napoleon's fall and exile to Elba), through the Hundred Days, to the hard swing to the right with the accession of Louis' brother, Charles X, in 1824. This narrative focuses not simply the raft and the poor souls doomed to it, but on the voyage of the whole convoy. The Medusa was the flagship of an expedition that included the Echo, the Loire and the Argus. There were a number of reasons passengers were headed to Senegal, but one way or another, most expected to benefit from the transfer of power over that nation from England to France.
As Miles begins his tale he assembles an extraordinary cast--spoiler alert--most of whom survived the wreck and subsequent tribulations. This is the core of the story. While Gericault is introduced at the beginning and his complicated love affair with his aunt-by-marriage Alexandrine is presented, substantive discussion of the painting itself is delayed until more than halfway through the book. First the expedition must founder, horrible events must take place, extraordinary political machinations must complicate many lives, and at least a few survivors must make their ways back to France.
Miles does a masterful job juggling a multitude story lines and subplots without losing track of the artist, the painting, and the meaning of such a work at that fraught historical moment. The book reads in parts like a thriller and each of us must establish our own sense of the good guys, bad guys, and the forces that brought all this about. At the end, Miles provides a sort of coda that explains what ultimately happened to the survivors whose stories and agendas were so mismatched.
On a side note: at this difficult moment with the 2022 midterm election only a couple weeks away, I found myself struck by parallels between the resurgence of the Ultras, the extreme Right in French society in the first three decades of the 19th century, and the burgeoning power of the QAnon-fueled plans of Donald Trump's followers and the Fascistic nature of the Christian Evangelicals who see events through a dismal screen of religious extremism.
Apparently someone optioned the book for a film, but it seemed to have slipped by me. Some information is available online. https://www.screendaily.com/news/jess... The summary, however suggests that the adaptation of the book to film was, to be kind, extremely "free."
I truly enjoy the book. My husband bought a copy because he was interested in the historic event for some project he is working on. When he had finished, of course I had to read it.
November 14, 2021
Good story, with much ambiguity and unsolved (probably unsolvable) questions. Could have been better told; book organization is somewhat confusing and writing style could be clearer.
June 4, 2024
I learned about the wreck of the Medusa from reading Bound to the Coast of Africa, a journal written by a sailor on his way to West Africa. For some reason, within the explanatory text was an account of the wreck of the Medusa and how only 15 people of 147 who had boarded the raft after the wreck were found alive thirteen days later. I requested two books on the subject, this being one of them.
While there is almost too much information within these pages, I appreciated learning so very much not only about the wreck and the loss of life and the incompetence that led to the Medusa running aground, but also about French politics of the era which led to such an incompetent man being chosen to captain this ship. To be frank, I had no idea that France had bounced back and forth between the monarchy and a republic so many times; it was not a “one and done” like for the United States.
As a person who also enjoys art, it was fascinating to read about Gericault and his vision for the painting, the way in which he was tortured internally by an illicit affair with his uncle’s wife, and how he would vacillate between extreme depression and a form of mania. My only wish is that I had read this in a physical copy so that I could reference the painting as the author described Gericault’s choices; the versions I found online were generally quite dark and hard to zoom in on.
This book can be difficult to read in parts. As the daughter and wife of Navy sailors, the idea that the captain goes down with the ship (or is the last one to abandon her) has been drilled into me, and the fact that the captain of the Medusa abandoned his ship when there were still men on board boggles my mind. How the sailors in the other ships could have turned people away when there was still room is also rather terrifying. Humans are our own worst enemy.
While there is almost too much information within these pages, I appreciated learning so very much not only about the wreck and the loss of life and the incompetence that led to the Medusa running aground, but also about French politics of the era which led to such an incompetent man being chosen to captain this ship. To be frank, I had no idea that France had bounced back and forth between the monarchy and a republic so many times; it was not a “one and done” like for the United States.
As a person who also enjoys art, it was fascinating to read about Gericault and his vision for the painting, the way in which he was tortured internally by an illicit affair with his uncle’s wife, and how he would vacillate between extreme depression and a form of mania. My only wish is that I had read this in a physical copy so that I could reference the painting as the author described Gericault’s choices; the versions I found online were generally quite dark and hard to zoom in on.
This book can be difficult to read in parts. As the daughter and wife of Navy sailors, the idea that the captain goes down with the ship (or is the last one to abandon her) has been drilled into me, and the fact that the captain of the Medusa abandoned his ship when there were still men on board boggles my mind. How the sailors in the other ships could have turned people away when there was still room is also rather terrifying. Humans are our own worst enemy.
December 25, 2023
Superb book about a historical event with resonating impacts in France (and somewhat in then Senegal) but that was a total unknown to me. I had seen the painting in the Louvre in 2019 (at the insistence of my father) and wanted to know more about it and the history behind its depiction. It's a huge, impressive piece that was subject to intense political wrangling at the time, the upheaval of France after Napoleon.
This book smartly weaves the horrible tragedy (and travesty) that was the wreck with the bittersweet life of the painter who ultimately captured the poignancy of the event. The survivors had somewhat conflicting stories of what happened, but all of them agreed on the incompetency of the captain, the cruelty of the leadership toward the survivors, the terrible decisions that had to be made, and the harshness of the elements. And then the lack of care with which they were treated by their government. Instead, those in responsibility were involved in covering up, downplaying their roles and trying to bury the facts. (The more things change...)
This book is well written, full of interesting facts and historical figures, which I highly recommend you check out. If you can, go see the painting, too.
This book smartly weaves the horrible tragedy (and travesty) that was the wreck with the bittersweet life of the painter who ultimately captured the poignancy of the event. The survivors had somewhat conflicting stories of what happened, but all of them agreed on the incompetency of the captain, the cruelty of the leadership toward the survivors, the terrible decisions that had to be made, and the harshness of the elements. And then the lack of care with which they were treated by their government. Instead, those in responsibility were involved in covering up, downplaying their roles and trying to bury the facts. (The more things change...)
This book is well written, full of interesting facts and historical figures, which I highly recommend you check out. If you can, go see the painting, too.
January 22, 2021
This is the story of the what was apparently the most famous shipwreck of the 1800s. The shipwreck and the 4 different means by which the survivors got to safety are detailed. The ineptitude of the ship's pompous captain is quite obvious. The name Chaumarey should be infamous and, perhaps, it is in France. The two groups who returned on foot via the Sahara desert were incredible. The raft, however, was more than tragic. This book moves from the wreck and the survivors return to the painter of the famous painting, Theodore Gericault. Although I learned much about an event that I had never heard of, the final chapters of the book are so embroiled in French history that I lost interest and had to skim much ot it.
January 12, 2020
I thought this was an interesting and thorough account of the Medusa and the terrible fate of her poorly captained passengers. McKee was able to keep the story moving. It was certainly strange and horrifying just as the cover promised, but I must admit he lost my interest when he tried to turn the ending into some kind of medical analysis of the psychology of being a confined victim of some tragedy or hostage situation. To me, it was unnecessary and prolonged a story that was already over.
May 14, 2024
Did not finish that approximately 2/3. The first part of the book is the most interesting, when they tell about the fate of the ships in the pack of the Medusa. But after that it was just going over how hard it was for two of the survivors of the raft to get recognition and reparation. It also told of the life of Theodore Gericault, the artist who painted The Raft of the Medusa. I got bored with the rest of it. A lot of politics. Very educational.
January 16, 2025
Good read, though in the last part the narrative seems to lose focus now and then by focusing too much on subjects (abolishing slavery e.g.) and characters (illegitimate son Géricault e.g.) Personally I had wanted to learn more about the creative process behind the painting (or even a more art-historical approach), it's only a minor element in this mostly historical account, that tries to be too encyclopedic in my view.
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