Other editions of book Captains Courageous

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Rudyard Kipling's 1897 novel Captains Courageous follows the adventures and subsequent growth of the spoiled young son of a railroad tycoon. Aboard a fishing boat after being washed off his transatlantic steamship, Harvey Cheyne Jr. is unable to convince his rescuers to return him to shore. Instead the captain offers him a place in the crew and, given that he has no other choice, the boy accepts.

The adventures of Harvey Chaney Jr., an arrogant and spoiled son of a railroad tycoon. Washed overboard from a transatlantic steamship and rescued by fishermen on the Grand Banks, Harvey cannot persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince them of his wealth. However, the captain of a passing schooner offers him a job as crew until they return to port.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), was a British author and poet, born in India, and best known today for his children's books, including The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Just So Stories (1902), and his novel, Kim (1901). Among his short stories are The Man Who Would Be King (1888) and the collections Life's Handicap (1891), The Day's Work (1898), and Plain Tales from the Hills (1888). He is regarded as a major "innovator in the art of the short story"; his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature; and his best work speaks to a versatile and luminous narrative gift. In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English language writer to receive the prize, and he remains today its youngest-ever recipient.

The hero in this story is an American boy, Harvey Cheyne, the son of a millionaire, spoiled but with the latent possibilities of manliness smothered by a pampered life. An accident opens a way to his better nature. In a fit of seasickness he falls from the deck of a big Atlantic liner, and is picked up by a dory from the Gloucester fishing schooner "We're Here" commanded by Disko Troop, a man of strong moral character and purpose. This skipper is unmoved by Harvey's tales of his father's wealth and importance, nor will he consent to take him back to New York until the fishing season is over. Instead he puts the boy to work at ten dollars a month. This enforced captivity is Harvey's regeneration. He learns the value of work, obedience, and good-will. He is sent back to his father as a boy really worth the expense of bringing up. Harvey's father returns the favor by securing Troop's son Dan a chance to rise as a seaman.

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