The Mutiny of the Elsinore


Read by Tom Crawford

(4.3 stars; 185 reviews)

This is the story of a voyage of a sailing ship from Baltimore to Seattle, east-to-west around Cape Horn in the winter. It is set in 1913 and the glory days of “wooden ships and iron men” are long over. The Elsinore is a four-masted iron sailing vessel carrying a cargo of 5000 tons of coal. She has a “bughouse” crew of misfits and incompetents.

This book was published in 1915 and some actions of some of the characters seem odd to us today. There is romance, but it is strangely platonic. Two important characters disappear with no real explanation. The disparity between the officers on the one hand and the fo’c’sle on the other is striking (literally). Some people will be offended by the bigotry.

The “men against the sea” descriptions -and the weather descriptions- are among Jack London’s finest. In my opinion he is right up there with Joseph Conrad and Joshua Slocum in this effort. We also have a mutiny, complete with shootings and deliberate starvation. My personal favorite is chapter 38.

Note: The chapter titles were assigned by the reader. London gave only numbers. (Introduction by Tom Crawford) (12 hr 29 min)

Chapters

01: I Don't Play Chopsticks 16:14 Read by Tom Crawford
02: Mister Pike 16:46 Read by Tom Crawford
03: The Greek Overboard 11:01 Read by Tom Crawford
04: About Captain West 8:03 Read by Tom Crawford
05: A Bughouse Crew 16:46 Read by Tom Crawford
06: My Accomodations 10:00 Read by Tom Crawford
07: We Never Discuss Sailors 11:12 Read by Tom Crawford
08: Making Sail 14:24 Read by Tom Crawford
09: Either a Calm or Northeast Gale 18:40 Read by Tom Crawford
10: Mister Mellaire 16:21 Read by Tom Crawford
11: Captain West is No Conversationalist 10:52 Read by Tom Crawford
12: Captain West is a Samurai 9:51 Read by Tom Crawford
13: Bedbugs! 19:27 Read by Tom Crawford
14: Mulligan Jacobs 17:07 Read by Tom Crawford
15: O'Sulllivan Used a Razor 16:25 Read by Tom Crawford
16: Possum Has a Fit 12:10 Read by Tom Crawford
17: The Gangsters in the Forecastle 16:04 Read by Tom Crawford
18: The Greek Overboard Again 12:21 Read by Tom Crawford
19: The Daughters of Herodias 10:29 Read by Tom Crawford
20: Miss West is Never Idle 11:39 Read by Tom Crawford
21: Charles Davis Murdered O'Sullivan 9:32 Read by Tom Crawford
22: Captain West Reprimands Mister Mellaire 8:33 Read by Tom Crawford
23: Two Sharks 9:44 Read by Tom Crawford
24: Sidney Maltham 10:09 Read by Tom Crawford
25: Rats 6:46 Read by Tom Crawford
26: Slaves and Masters 5:47 Read by Tom Crawford
27: "Oh Dear, oh dear" 8:35 Read by Tom Crawford
28: Off the River Plate 21:43 Read by Tom Crawford
29: A Sunset and Elsinore on Her Side 13:45 Read by Tom Crawford
30: Number Three Hatch 23:43 Read by Tom Crawford
31: She is Margaret 16:14 Read by Tom Crawford
32: Old Stiff 9:05 Read by Tom Crawford
33: Twenty-eight Point Six Four 18:44 Read by Tom Crawford
34: Aloft in a Gale 11:25 Read by Tom Crawford
35: A Cask and Three Devils 31:41 Read by Tom Crawford
36: ...And no Westing 11:33 Read by Tom Crawford
37: I have Found the Love of Woman 13:38 Read by Tom Crawford
38: Did the Samurai Make a Mistake? 28:31 Read by Tom Crawford
39: And God Help the Man That Don't Jump 12:09 Read by Tom Crawford
40: We Make Westing 17:35 Read by Tom Crawford
41: We Are Around the Horn 6:06 Read by Tom Crawford
42: The Mutiny of the Elsinore 32:45 Read by Tom Crawford
43: Twenty-seven of Them Against Eleven of Us 21:27 Read by Tom Crawford
44: Where Do They Get Their Food? 16:47 Read by Tom Crawford
45: Our First Truce 14:46 Read by Tom Crawford
46: A Navigator Aft 13:00 Read by Tom Crawford
47: Two Assaults and an Ambush 15:15 Read by Tom Crawford
48: Rough-on-Rats 9:51 Read by Tom Crawford
49: Sulfuric Acid and Sulfur Fumes 23:50 Read by Tom Crawford
50: The Final Chapter 31:08 Read by Tom Crawford

Reviews

adventure


(5 stars)

great reading, love and character

GLAD TO BE ASHORE


(4.5 stars)

The voyage exhausted me, but what a voyage. London's descriptive powers are never better than when used on the painfully slow (and seemmingly futile) trip around the horn. In the same style I struggled for breath while escaping the sulphurous gas. London writes wonderfully of the things which knows best; it is obvious, then, that he lived among the dregs of society; it is equally apparent that he knew nothing of true, pure love. Mr. Crawford read the tale with just the right flair; thank you.

love the reader's chapter headings


(4 stars)

I'd give it five stars if London had edited out the narrator's intrusive thoughts about the captain's daughter. Hearing over and over, "she is a woman, and she is desirable" was somehow worse than his occasional racial reasoning toward the end that the blonder the hair and the lighter the eyes obviously equaled the right of rulership. White Fang's mother to the rescue, the narrator obviously needs to get eaten....

A Ripping yarn of the sea, replete with the casual racism.


(4 stars)

Good balanced reading, a few mispronuciations of French names, but overall good pacing and easy to listen to. A knowledgeable account of sailing, with good characterisation and convincing action. How far the narrator's views of natural hierarchy and racial theory are those of the author remain unclear. Though the author does recount the dreadful conditions and excessive brutality that led to the mutiny.

Volunteer Readers Could Learn From Tom


(5 stars)

Tom Crawford has one of the most important things going for him that any volunteer might want--and that is the wisdom to know which stories his voice is best suited for reading. His voice is perfect for reading stories about rugged manly men who wouldn't easily fit into a business suit. Thanks Tom!


(4 stars)

Not my fav Jack London- a bit slower of a book but still interesting. While I do appreciate the volunteer readers, this gentleman's saliva smacking throughout the book was very distracting. Perhaps taking a drink of water prior to reading may help?

it was a great book I loved it. I liked the reader it seemed very real like I w…


(1 stars)

It was ok


(4 stars)

Well written but the excitement was minimal and two of the main characters disappeared without explanation.