Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World

by Peter Moore

Overview

"An immense treasure trove of fact-filled and highly readable fun.” —Simon Winchester, The New York Times Book Review

A Sunday Times (U.K.) Best Book of 2018 and Winner of the Mary Soames Award for History

An unprecedented history of the storied ship that Darwin said helped add a hemisphere to the civilized world

The Enlightenment was an age of endeavors, with Britain consumed by the impulse for grand projects undertaken at speed. Endeavour was also the name given to a collier bought by the Royal Navy in 1768. It was a commonplace coal-carrying vessel that no one could have guessed would go on to become the most significant ship in the chronicle of British exploration.

The first history of its kind, Peter Moore’s Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is a revealing and comprehensive account of the storied ship’s role in shaping the Western world. Endeavour famously carried James Cook on his first major voyage, charting for the first time New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia. Yet it was a ship with many lives: During the battles for control of New York in 1776, she witnessed the bloody birth of the republic. As well as carrying botanists, a Polynesian priest, and the remains of the first kangaroo to arrive in Britain, she transported Newcastle coal and Hessian soldiers. NASA ultimately named a space shuttle in her honor. But to others she would be a toxic symbol of imperialism.

Through careful research, Moore tells the story of one of history’s most important sailing ships, and in turn shines new light on the ambition and consequences of the Age of Enlightenment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250619433
Publisher:	Picador
Publication date:	07/21/2020
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	241,404
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Peter Moore teaches creative writing at the University of London and the University of Oxford. He is the author of Damn His Blood and The Weather Experiment, which was named one of the New York Times Book Review’s 100 Notable Books of 2015 and adapted for a BBC4 documentary series. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Map x-xii

Prologue: Endeavours of the Mind 1

Part 1 Life

1 Acorns 15

Part 2 Trade

2 Enigmas 33

3 Cross Currents 58

4 Mr Birds Ways 83

5 Land of Liberty 105

Part 3 Exploration

6 'Take a Trip in disguise' 129

7 Airy Dreams 155

8 Perfect Strangers 184

9 'That rainbow serpent place' 213

Part 4 War

10 360° 243

11 The Frozen Serpent of the South 268

12 The Collier Fleet 293

13 Ghosts 318

Epilogue: Endeavours 339

Acknowledgements 354

Select Bibliography 357

Notes 364

Index 390

Editorial Reviews

[A] fantastically detailed story . . . a joy of a biography, offering up a blizzard of maritime and political fascinations . . . Moore has written a book that makes the case for [Endeavour] both compelling and irrefutable—and offers up besides an immense treasure trove of fact-filled and highly readable fun.” —Simon Winchester, The New York Times Book Review

"[Moore] draws the reader in with lively prose . . . an engaging, well-researched narrative." —A. Roger Ekirch, The Wall Street Journal

"[An] immersive account of [Endeavour's] life, from acorn to ending." " —The Economist

"Enlightening . . . Moore goes well beyond simple history or a mere tracking of the Endeavour's exploits. Though the minutiae may seem daunting at first, readers should stick with it, as the narrative transforms into a page-turning, breathtaking adventure story for the ages . . . History at its most exciting and revealing." —Kirkus (starred review)

"In recounting the history of the Endeavour, Moore illuminates the improbable life of a humble collier . . . In learning about one boat’s world-straddling feats, readers also learn about the impetuous spirit that transformed society during the decades she sailed . . . With an acute eye, Moore limns the conflicting human impulses in the first episodes of this epoch-making drama. Maritime history that opens onto much more." —Booklist (starred review)

"Endeavour is a dazzling combination of science and adventure, lyrically evocative descriptions of lush tropical landscapes and salt-stung seascapes, and a portrait of an age of 'magnificent geniality' . . . Endeavour is an absolute joy from start to finish, and surely my history book of the year." —Christopher Hart, Sunday Times (U.K.)

"Endeavour is an extraordinary book about an unlikely ship that defined an age . . . The book reminded me of one of those opulent 18th-century feasts enjoyed by King George ­– endless exotic dishes all delivered with exquisite style. Like the age it recounts, it is a book of energy, creativity and self-confidence." —Gerard DeGroot, The Times (U.K.)

"Moore’s richly detailed book is an engrossing love letter to a word, an attitude and a ship: it is an endeavour that honours Endeavour, without denying the death and destruction that followed in her wake." —Ruth Scurr, The Guardian

"Endeavour is a deeply satisfying book. It represents an intelligent, diverse, fresh and challenging approach to writing the history of exploration. Paying homage to the remarkable lives of a single vessel, Peter Moore also gives the Endeavour a new lease of life long after its sinking." —Robert Mayhew, Literary Review

From the Publisher

Endeavour, Peter Moore's fantastically detailed story of this tough little Yorkshire-built coal-carrier, which was purchased by the Admiralty for little more than 2,000 British pounds for its South Seas expedition…is a joy of a biography, offering up a blizzard of maritime and political fascinations…Moore has written a book that makes the case for his little ship both compelling and irrefutable—and offers up besides an immense treasure trove of fact-filled and highly readable fun.

The New York Times Book Review - Simon Winchester

★ 2019-03-03

A dense but enlightening history of a highly significant 18th-century vessel.

Moore (Creative Writing/Univ. of London and Univ. of Oxford; The Weather Experiment: The Pioneers Who Sought to See the Future, 2015, etc.) goes well beyond simple history or a mere tracking of the Endeavour's exploits. Though the minutiae may seem daunting at first, readers should stick with it, as the narrative transforms into a page-turning, breathtaking adventure story for the ages. Built in 1764 and initially christened the Earl of Pembroke, the ship was flat-bottomed and featured an open hold, reinforced hull, and bulldog nose that was designed for strength rather than beauty. Her first life was as a collier, transporting coal to London. Enter Alexander Dalrymple, long a student of the South Seas, who was determined to find the southern continent, Terra Australis. The Royal Society appointed him as observer of the expected 1769 transit of Venus across the sun. The king's funding made this an Admiralty voyage, which required a naval captain; officials didn't choose Dalrymple, but they used his plans. James Cook would take the helm of the now renamed Endeavour, accompanied by naturalist Joseph Banks, who was well-versed in Carl Linnaeus' new taxonomy system, and artist Sydney Parkinson. Idyllic days in Tahiti were followed by a complete circumnavigation and mapping of New Zealand and parts of Australia's coast. The reactions to the ship's arrival varied from distrust to fear to belligerence to aloofness. Her sudden discovery of the Great Barrier Reef illustrates just how perfect ship and captain were for the job. Among the many other discoveries thrillingly recounted by Moore: birds, fish, arthropods, and more than 30,000 botanical specimens. In her third life, the Endeavour made a series of journeys to the Falklands. As the author notes, "her biography roams across the history of the time, binding into a single narrative diverse moments of true historical significance."

History at its most exciting and revealing.

Kirkus Reviews