In the Heart of the Sea: The Epic True Story that Inspired Moby Dick

‘William Hootkins can barely hide the disdain in his deep, throaty, American voice as he tells of the massacre. If you listen hard enough you can detect a hint of poetic justice as he relays the horrors of the survivors, found sucking the marrow from their dead shipmates’ bone. Brilliant.’ Observer

‘Nathaniel Philbrick has taken one of the most horrifying stories in maritime history and turned it into a classic. Rich with detail on topics ranging from celestial navigation and whale biology to the history of cannibalism, this is historical writing at its best – and at the same time, one of the most chilling books I have ever read.’ Sebastian Junger, author of THE PERFECT STORM.

The epic true-life story of one of the most notorious maritime disasters of the 19th century, a disaster which inspired, amongst others, Melville’s Moby Dick.

The sinking of the whaleship Essex by an enraged spermwhale in the Pacific in November 1820 set in motion one of the most dramatic sea stories of all time: the twenty sailors who survived the wreck took to three small boats (one of which was again attacked by a whale) and only eight of them survived their subsequent 90-day ordeal, after resorting to cannibalising their mates.

Three months after the Essex was broken up, the whaleship Dauphin, cruising off the coast of South America, spotted a small boat in the open ocean. As they pulled alongside they saw piles of bones in the bottom of the boat, at least two skeletons’ worth, with two survivors – almost skeletons themselves – sucking the marrow from the bones of their dead ship-mates.

The author uses a hitherto unknown diary of one of the survivors discovered in an attic in Connecticut in spring 1998.