Captains Courageous

''Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks'' 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.''Captains Courageous'' title
Kipling.org

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 Heres 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. His crewman 'Long Jack' once calls him "Discobolus".

Film, TV, theatrical, or other adaptations

''Captains Courageous'' has been adapted for film three times:
* In 1937 as ''Captains Courageous'', produced by Louis D. Lighton, directed by Victor Fleming and starring Spencer Tracy, Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney, and John Carradine. Tracy won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in this film.
* In 1977 for television, directed by Harvey Hart and starring Karl Malden, Jonathan Kahn, Ricardo Montalbán, Fritz Weaver, Fred Gwynne and Neville Brand.
* In 1996 for television, directed by Michael Anderson and starring Robert Urich, Kenny Vadas, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Sandra Nelson and Colin Cunningham.
Musical theatre:
* ''Captains Courageous, The Musical'' was a 1999 Off Broadway production at the Manhattan Theatre Club.
* Episode 89 of The Triplets is based off of Captains Courageous, and follows the plot very closely.

Other adaptations:
* '' The Billion Dollar Boy'' by Charles Sheffield is a retelling of ''Captains Courageous'' in a futuristic science fiction setting.
* ''Cabin Boy'', a movie starring Chris Elliott, is a (very) loose adaptation.

Derivative usages

* "Captain Courageous" in the singular is sometimes used as praise for a leader of a group or team, e.g

.
* The commentator David Lloyd frequently referred to Kevin Pietersen as "Captain Courageous" during his period as captain of the England cricket team.
* In the movie ''Captain Ron'' (1992), Martin Short's character derisively refers to the leader as "Captains Courageous".
* "Captains Outrageous" is the title of a 1974 Junior Woodchucks comic book written by Carl Barks, a 1979 episode of the American television series ''M*A*S*H'' and a 2001 crime/suspense novel by Joe R. Lansdale.
*"Captains Courageous" is a track on the Levellers album ''Mouth to Mouth''

References

External links

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''Captains Courageous'', Chapter 1
''McClure's Magazine'', November 1896
''Captains Courageous, The Musical''
at The Internet Off Broadway Database

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1897 British novels
19th-century British children's literature
British novels adapted into films
Novels by Rudyard Kipling
Novels first published in serial form
Novels set in North America
Works originally published in McClure's
Maritime books
Novels set in Newfoundland and Labrador
Victorian novels
1890s children's books
Novels set on ships