Other editions of book THE BOATS OF THE 'GLEN CARRIG' ..

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Being an account of their Adventures in the Strange places of the Earth, after the foundering of the good ship Glen Carrig through striking upon a hidden rock in the unknown seas to the Southward. As told by John Winterstraw, Gent., to his Son James Winterstraw, in the year 1757, and by him committed very properly and legibly to manuscript. A Wildside Fantasy Classic!

The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" is a horror novel by William Hope Hodgson, first published in 1907. Its importance was recognised in its later revival in paperback by Ballantine Books as the twenty-fifth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in February 1971. The novel is written in an archaic style, and is presented as a true account, written in 1757, of events occurring earlier. The narrator is a passenger who was traveling on the ship Glen Carrig, which was lost at sea when it struck "a hidden rock". The story is about the adventures of the survivors, who escaped the wreck in two lifeboats. The novel is written in a style similar to that used by Hodgson in his longer novel The Night Land (1912); with long sentences, containing semicolons and numerous prepositional phrases. There is no dialogue in the usual sense. While The Night Land is an early example of science fiction, Boats is primarily a survival and adventure story with elements of horror, in the form of monsters. The monsters do not necessarily require a supernatural explanation — i.e., are not ghosts, as in Hodgson's novel The Ghost Pirates (1909) or some of his Carnacki stories —, but there are also few explanations given. Boats in its strong use of concrete detail evokes a lost world, and is also an interesting case study in human relationships and class mores, as the class distinctions between the narrator and the crew members are broken down by the shared situation they find themselves in, but are eventually re-established. The text is out of copyright and is available online via Project Gutenberg and other sources. An unabridged recording of the novel is available in the form of a podcast.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The novels and short stories of William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918), though almost entirely unknown during his lifetime, have become some of the most influential early works in fields of literature as diverse as fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Among his small body of longer fiction is "The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig,'" a curious narrative of weird menace and strange adventure on the high seas. Imitating the popular travelogues of the age of exploration, the narrative concerns the adventures of a group of castaways—first, upon a strange land where even the vegetation is a dreadful enemy, and later in the famous Sargasso Sea of legend, a place of ancient derelicts, deadly cephalopods, and the mysterious and sinister "weed-men." Mesembria Press is proud to present a new edition of William Hope Hodgson's "The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig,'" newly annotated to clarify some of the book's obscure nautical terminology, as well as provide additional insight into the author's unique imaginative vision.

"The Boats of the 'Glen-Carrig'" is a horror novel by William Hope Hodgson, first published in 1907. The novel is presented as a true account, written in 1757, of events occurring earlier. The narrator is a passenger who was traveling on the ship 'Glen Carrig,' which was lost at sea when it struck "a hidden rock." The story is about the adventures of the survivors, who escaped the wreck in two lifeboats. "The brooding menace in the earlier parts of the book is impossible to surpass..." -H.P. Lovecraft

THE BOATS OF THE GLEN CARRIG Being an account of their Adventures in the Strange places of the Earth, after the foundering of the good ship Glen Carrig through striking upon a hidden rock in the unknown seas to the Southward. As told by John Winterstraw, Gent., to his son James Winterstraw, in the year 1757, and by him committed very properly and legibly to manuscript. This is a forgotten gem that blends horror, fantasy, and sea adventure written in an archaic style that gives it a unique flavor.

I The Land of Lonesomeness Now we had been five days in the boats, and in all this time made no discovering of land. Then upon the morning of the sixth day came there a cry from the bo'sun, who had the command of the lifeboat, that there was something which might be land afar upon our larboard bow; but it was very low lying, and none could tell whether it was land or but a morning cloud. Yet, because there was the beginning of hope within our hearts, we pulled wearily towards it, and thus, in about an hour, discovered it to be indeed the coast of some flat country. Then, it might be a little after the hour of midday, we had come so close to it that we could distinguish with ease what manner of land lay beyond the shore, and thus we found it to be of an abominable flatness, desolate beyond all that I could have imagined. Here and there it appeared to be covered with clumps of queer vegetation; though whether they were small trees or great bushes, I had no means of telling; but this I know, that they were like unto nothing which ever I had set eyes upon before. So much as this I gathered as we pulled slowly along the coast, seeking an opening whereby we could pass inward to the land; but a weary time passed or ere we came upon that which we sought. Yet, in the end, we found it—a slimy-banked creek, which proved to be the estuary of a great river, though we spoke of it always as a creek. Into this we entered, and proceeded at no great pace upwards along its winding course; and as we made forward, we scanned the low banks upon each side, perchance there might be some spot where we could make to land; but we found none—the banks being composed of a vile mud which gave us no encouragement to venture rashly upon them.

Now we had been five days in the boats, and in all this time made no discovering of land. Then upon the morning of the sixth day came there a cry from the bo'sun, who had the command of the lifeboat, that there was something which might be land afar upon our larboard bow; but it was very low lying, and none could tell whether it was land or but a morning cloud. Yet, because there was the beginning of hope within our hearts, we pulled wearily towards it, and thus, in about an hour, discovered it to be indeed the coast of some flat country. Then, it might be a little after the hour of midday, we had come so close to it that we could distinguish with ease what manner of land lay beyond the shore, and thus we found it to be of an abominable flatness, desolate beyond all that I could have imagined. Here and there it appeared to be covered with clumps of queer vegetation; though whether they were small trees or great bushes, I had no means of telling; but this I know, that they were like unto nothing which ever I had set eyes upon before.