''The Phantom Ship'' (1839) is a Gothic novel by

Frederick Marryat Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer, a novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel ...

which explores the legend of the ''

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Du ...

''.

Plot introduction

The plot concerns the quest of Philip Vanderdecken of Terneuzen in the Netherlands to save his father - who has been doomed to sail for eternity as the Captain of the Bewitched Phantom Ship, after he made a rash oath to heaven and slew one of the crew whilst attempting to sail round the Cape of Good Hope. Vanderdecken learns upon his mother's death that there exists a way by which his father's disturbed spirit may be laid to rest, and vows to live at sea until he has spoken with his father face to face and accomplished this purpose. Vanderdecken sails around the world in a number of ships, in the employ of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

, so that he can redeem his father by presenting him with the relic of the Holy Cross he wears round his neck. His quest, however, brings him into conflict with earthly and unearthly powers as the sight of the ''Flying Dutchman'' brings doom to all who encounter her.

Themes

The legend of the ''

'' forms the background to the story and makes regular appearances throughout the novel, while Marryat adds many other supernatural details. He introduces as the heroine, Amine, the daughter of one Mynheer Poots, a miser. Having Arab blood in her veins, she possesses some of the secrets of Arabian magic, but her incautious use of her magic arts brings her into the dungeons of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. Likewise, there is Schrifter, the demon pilot; and Krantz, with a tale of horrors in the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountains; atrocious monks; and ghosts that will not be drowned.

Publication

The novel was originally serialised in ''

The New Monthly Magazine ''The New Monthly Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine published from 1814 to 1884. It was founded by Henry Colburn and published by him through to 1845. History Colburn and Frederic Shoberl established ''The New Monthly Magazine and Univ ...

'' beginning in March 1837 and ending in August 1839. One chapter concerning a werewolf has often been excerpted in anthologies of supernatural fiction as '' The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains''.

Reviews

The reviews for the novel were generally poor. '' The Athenaeum'' thought that the work "falls sadly short of the racy marine stories by which the author won his first fame". In particular, it noted that Marryat "dashes off scenes of portent and terror with the same familiar and slip-shod style ... and the result is a feebleness of effect, not to be found in his other novels."''The Athenaeum'' (1839), Issue 599, page 297 Likewise in referring to the book, '' The Dublin Review'' thought that the "falling off in his last novel ... is very considerable", and stated that "a string of extravagant adventures, carelessly put together, and heavily told, deaden curiosity,—the ''Flying Dutchman'' makes his appearance as regularly as a packetboat, and becomes at last almost as tiresome."''The Dublin Review'' (1839), Volume 7, page 242 In June 1839 ''

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and American Monthly Review'' (sometimes ''...and Monthly American Review'' or, more simply, ''Burton's Magazine''), was a literary publication published in Philadelphia from 1837 to 1840. Its founder was William Ev ...

'' published an anonymous review of the novel which is believed to have been written by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

. The review was largely an attack on Marryat's abilities as a writer. Turning to ''The Phantom Ship'', Poe wrote: In more recent times S. T. Joshi has called the novel "an aesthetic disaster – appallingly prolix, and written in a stiff, cumbersome style that reads like a bad translation from a foreign language."S.T. Joshi, ''Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction, Volume 1. NY: Hippocampus Press, 2014, p. 188

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom Ship Novels by Frederick Marryat 1839 novels 1830s fantasy novels 1830s children's books English Gothic novels Works originally published in The New Monthly Magazine Novels first published in serial form Nautical novels Werewolf novels Dark fantasy novels British children's books British children's novels British Gothic novels Flying Dutchman