Captain Cook: Obsession and Betrayal in the New World by Vanessa Collingridge

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Previous owner has stamped inside page. Pages are sunned.

For the first time, Captain James Cook is given the study of passion, complexity and exploration that he deserves. Part biography and part historical mystery, Vanessa Collingridge has written an extraordinary book that brings Cook and the power of his legacy to life.

This intimate biography sets Captain Cook, hero of conflicting myths, in the context of his times, his personality, his guiding philosophy and his extraordinary legacy. The book is written by the distant cousin of George Collingridge, who set out to explore Australia 100 years after Cook. A uniquely woven story encompassing three separate centuries and three different lives.

Captain Cook, best known for his heroic voyages through the Pacific Ocean, is brought to life in vivid detail. We follow his humble beginnings as the son of a farm labourer, through his convention-shattering treatment of the indigenous groups he met on his travels, and then onto his final, tragic voyage, which signalled the end of his revered reputation.

One hundred years on from the death of Cook, another great man, George Collingridge, begins his own adventure. He, like Cook was oblivious to the implications his journey would have. Along the way, he unfolds ancient maps, secret tales and unearths hidden lands and buried treasure. He is also said to have realised that it was not Cook who discovered Australia - it was the Portuguese. This firm belief was the eventual cause of his self-destruction.

Another hundred years later, Vanessa Collingridge is searching for books on her lifelong hero, Captain Cook, in a university library. She discovers the name of a distant cousin, George Collingridge, in a dusty card index. And so a new journey of discovery begins - in the footsteps of her hero and his nemesis.