Captains Courageous
Captains Courageous is an 1897 novel, by Rudyard Kipling, that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese fisherman in the north Atlantic. The novel originally appeared as a serialisation in "McClure's", beginning with the November 1896 edition with the last instalment appearing in May 1897. In that year it was then published in its entirety as a novel, first in the United States by Doubleday, and a month later in the United Kingdom by Macmillan. It is Kipling 's only novel set entirely in North America. In 1900, Teddy Roosevelt extolled the book in his essay "What We Can Expect of the American Boy," praising Kipling for describing "in the liveliest way just what a boy should be and do." The book's title comes from the ballad "Mary Ambree", which starts, "When captains courageous, whom death could not daunt". Kipling had previously used the same title for an article on businessmen as the new adventurers, published in "The Times" of 23 November 1892. Plot. Protagonist Harvey Cheyne Jr., is the spoiled son of a wealthy California railroad  magnate. Washed overboard from a transatlantic steamship and rescued by the crew of the fishing schooner "We're Here" off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Harvey can neither persuade them to take him quickly to port, nor convince them of his wealth. Harvey accuses the captain, Disko Troop, of taking his money (which is later revealed to be on the deck from which Harvey fell). Troop bloodies his nose but takes him in as a boy on the crew until they return to port. Harvey comes to accept his situation. Through a series of trials and adventures, Harvey, with the  help of the captain's son Dan Troop, becomes acclimated to the fishing lifestyle, and even skillful, such as becoming responsible for the ship's accounts of its catch. Great stories of the cod fishery with references to New England whaling and 19th-century steam and sailing are intertwined with the "We're Here"'s adventures during a season at sea. Eventually, the "We're Here" returns to port and Harvey wires his parents, who immediately hasten to Boston, Massachusetts, and thence to the fishing town of Gloucester to recover him. The Cheynes are amazed by their son's newfound  maturity, and reward the seaman Manuel, who initially rescued Harvey. Harvey's father hires Dan to work on his prestigious tea clipper fleet, and Harvey goes to Stanford to prepare for taking over his father's shipping lines. Notes. The book was written during Kipling's time living in Brattleboro, Vermont. Kipling recalled in his autobiography: Kipling also recalled: The resulting account, in Chapter 9, of the Cheynes' journey from San Diego to Boston, is a classic of railway literature. The couple travel in the Cheynes' private rail car, the "Constance", and are taken from San Diego to Chicago as  a special train, hauled by sixteen locomotives in succession. It takes precedence over 177 other trains. "Two and one-half minutes would be allowed for changing engines; three for watering and two for coaling". The "Constance" is attached to the scheduled express "New York Limited" to Buffalo, New York and then transferred to the New York Central for the trip across the state to Albany. Switched to the Boston and Albany Railroad, the Cheynes complete the trip to Boston in their private car, with the entire cross-country run taking 87 hours 35 minutes. Kipling also recalled: Disko Troop claims  to receive his given name for his birth on board his father's ship near Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. His crewman 'Long Jack' once calls him "Discobolus". Film, TV, theatrical, or other adaptations. "Captains Courageous" has been adapted for film three times: Musical theatre: Other adaptations: