The Wreck of the Golden Mary (hosted by Petra) - 2nd Summer Read 2021

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Petra (and others) - now we've read the middle section, does this change how you feel about the final section, "The Deliverance" or even the whole work? I'm pleased to have read those additional stories, as I don't think I've ever read them before. And now a couple of things occur to me.

First is that it's good to know something about the passengers in both boats, and not just those in Captain Ravender's. Otherwise we would just have had the Captain's overview, in the first section. But after he became ill, we read at the end of "John Steadiman's account" that the following stories are:

"some, I give from my remembrance; some, which I did not hear, from the remembrance of others".

If we had not read this section, "The Beguilement of the Boats", we would have known nothing about those in the second boat.

I also found that these stories added to my engagement with the passengers. These people now feel far more real to me; both the reasons why they made this voyage - which sometimes are very sad - and also the courage they all displayed.

We've had three deaths; two which feel tragic and one hair-raisingly horrific. I think Mr. Rarx's maniacal leap to his death had an added frisson to me, because of the more fully rounded characters we have got to know in the middle section.

Petra, you're so right about the ship rescuing them itself having limited resources, and how they are "saviours". The entire story is one of hope and courage, and worthy of the festive season. I do wonder, as I do at the end of all good tales, that I wish I knew what is in store next for everyone - not least those who rescued all these poor shipwrecked people.

[Petra]

Jean, like you, I found that the stories in Beguilement of the Boats made the passengers and crew real to me. In the main story (The Wreck & Deliverance), they were nameless and unknown to us. But these 5 stories gave us backstories to 5 of them.

To me, this made me focus more on the fact that each of these nameless people under the care of the Captain and John had a story, had something to lose and would be missed in the world if the boats didn't find rescue. It wasn't just the Captain, John and our 3 main passengers who had something to lose. It was all of them.

I read the stories at the end of Deliverance. I have been wondering whether reading them after The Wreck would have enhanced Deliverance, after having engaged with the passengers and crew?
I can't decide. I enjoyed reading them at the end, but would Deliverance, with everyone being so close to death & starvation have seemed more destitute and pulled at the heartstrings more if I'd known these backstories beforehand? I really cannot say.

I do wish all those who stayed in California a happy and safe life, as well as the 5 or so people who followed the Captain & John back to England. I wish them all well.

[Sara]

I read the stories in their original placement and confess that I felt they were an interruption of the story, which frustrated me. However, I do think they serve to give us a connection with these people that we do not have without them. I re-read each of them as we were discussing, and I found them much more enjoyable the second time around.

Now, that might be because of the discussion that enhanced them so beautifully...or, it might be that, not feeling like they were impeding my ability to get to the next part of the "real story", I paid more attention and slowed down the second time. Either way, very glad to have read them.