Last Updated on September 1, 2026
Resident Barbara Johnson will review The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann [New York: Doubleday, 2023], on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 7 PM in the Auditorium. This is her review for the September 2026 issue of The Sunburst.
A special treat for armchair adventurers! It’s 1740. England and Spain are vying for imperial dominance of the seas. The HMS Wager sets sail as part of a British fleet charged with chasing down a Spanish treasure galleon. Nine months later, a shipwreck ends their perilous voyage, after over half of their crew of 250 have died–victims of injuries, drowning, disease, and starvation. The castaways wash up on a barren island off the coast of Patagonia and begin a new chapter of their journey. As they struggle to survive on the island, all order breaks down and mutiny-fueled chaos ensues.
In two separate, ragged remnants, as the death toll continues to mount, the men fight their way back to safety. Once back on British soil, they face a court-martial in which they testify to conflicting versions of the anarchy.
It’s nonfiction history at its very best. Grann has scoured every available source in bringing to life the daily dangers braved by the men—and boys—crewing the Wager. We are swept along with this wretched band of seamen, castaways, and mutineers in a dramatic account that brings us face to face with the limits of human endurance and the boundaries of human civility.
David Grann is a bestselling author and award-winning staff writer at the New Yorker magazine. His books include The Lost City of Z and Killers of the Flower Moon. The Wager, published in 2023, is his latest book.
Barbara Johnson has lived at Charlestown since 2018. She loves books, movies, music, and grandsons, and she is a co-founder of Charlestown’s Death Café. This is her second Book Review.