Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant

Don’t be put off by the plain title – Mrs Jewell and the wreck of the General Grant is a story of tragedy, survival, and gold. The story begins with 83 people travelling from Melbourne to London in May 1866 on the General Grant ship. As the title of the novel indicates, the ship is wrecked and only a few people survive. The character of Mrs Jewell describes it herself:
“Fifteen souls floated in two twenty-foot boats out on the turbulent sea and wept and cried and prayed, but it made no difference. Every other person on the General Grant died that day.”

The novel is written from Mary Jewell’s perspective and based on a true story. Mrs Jewell’s character development throughout the novel is compelling. She must learn to toughen up when she becomes a castaway – she can no longer be a delicate, well-mannered lady if she wants to survive. She struggles being the only woman on the island because the men (including her husband) see her as a burden.

In addition to the complex social dynamics of the group of castaways, the knowledge of a large amount of gold being lost when the ship sunk is motivation for many of the men’s actions. We get an insight into the way that the potential of riches can corrupt an individual’s morals.

As an English and History teacher I thoroughly enjoyed this book for the writing and the historical context. The writing is engaging as it gives you a clear sense of the hunger, sadness and desperation the characters feel while trying to figure out how to survive. You never quite know what the characters are going to do next, as some are riddled with grief, some are trying to keep everyone alive, and some are just looking out for themselves.

I would recommend this for class use with a year 12 or 13 class. Due to the tedious living conditions of the characters, the story does have some slow moments, so it perhaps is best for students who are persistent readers. There’s a lot you can do with this text though; students could apply a feminist or Marxist lens to the story and the attitudes of the characters. Hobbes’ social contract theory could be discussed when studying the rules the castaways establish amongst themselves. Teachers could use this as a thematic starting point to study other texts about women or class in early colonial society. You could also recommend this novel to individual students who are interested in the themes of survival, greed, migration, or the treatment of women.

Even if you don’t use this as a class text, it’s worth a read if you are interested in the history of the oceans and islands surrounding us. If you know nothing about the wreck of the General Grant, read the book before researching the event so you don’t reveal any spoilers.