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Audiobook edition · 7 h 7 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can two shipwrecked boys rely on when home is far away and the wild lies before them?
In Edward Sylvester Ellis’s Adrift in the Wilds; Or, the Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys, a shipwreck strips away the safety of ordinary life. Two boys and their servant face open country on the California frontier, far from home and help. Staying alive becomes their urgent task.
This classic adventure puts friendship, nerve and quick thinking at the heart of survival. The boys have each other, but danger demands more than courage alone. With plain language and brisk plotting, Ellis draws you into an old-fashioned tale of young people facing the wild together.
What you’ll discover
- Far from safety Enter a survival story where a shipwreck leaves two boys facing unfamiliar open country.
- Friendship under pressure Discover why shared work and mutual encouragement matter when home and help are far away.
- Courage meets quick thinking Follow an adventure built on nerve, resourcefulness and the need to keep going.
- The wild California frontier Step into wild country that places survival at the centre of the boys’ lives.
- A classic adventure style Enjoy plain language and brisk plotting from a writer known for frontier tales.
Who will love it
Readers who love shipwrecks, wilderness survival and boys' adventures will enjoy this tale, as will fans of a comic Irish sidekick and a faithful dog.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dream on deck becomes a burning ship
- Three friends jump and trust a bench
- A rescued stranger and a long swim
- Ashore, asleep, and left behind
- Bargains for a gun and a blanket
- A rattlesnake, three miners and a canoe
- Shasta the Pah Utah and the hunted hunter
- Wolverines, a joke, and a quiet goodbye
- Lost in the hills and the search that follows
- What the book says about kindness and faith
- Comic voices and a narrator who teaches
Who’s who
- Elwood BrandonA bold, impulsive fifteen-year-old who is heading home to California and often acts on his first thought.
- Howard LawrenceElwood's careful cousin, who weighs risks, keeps his faith, and tries to hold his friends together.
- Tim O'RooneyA good-natured Irishman and former miner who guards the boys, loves his pipe, and tells endless jokes.
- TerrorThe boys' loyal Newfoundland dog, who swims, hunts, and keeps watch over his friends.
- ShastaA strong, silent Pah Utah man who is found sick and later guides the friends down the river.
- Manuel YardA kindly merchant from San Francisco who shares the first night on the raft and works to rescue the boys.
- Ned TrimbleA talkative, joking miner who has spent five years in California and gives the boys what they need.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Verschollen in der Wildnis oder Die Abenteuer zweier schiffbrüchiger Jungen in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Verschollen in der Wildnis oder Die Abenteuer zweier schiffbrüchiger Jungen
by Edward Sylvester Ellis · 1869
Two cousins, an Irishman and a dog escape a burning steamer with a bench as their raft.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if your ship caught fire at midnight, a day short of home, with the nearest shore miles away across a dark sea? That is the question put to two fifteen-year-old cousins, Elwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence, and to their Irish guardian, Tim O'Rooney.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dream on deck becomes a burning ship
Three passengers sit apart from the crowd. They are Elwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence, cousins born less than a month apart, and Tim O'Rooney, a burly Irishman sent east to bring the boys home for the summer.
The boys look alike and love each other like brothers, but they differ in temper. Elwood is bold and acts on his first thought. Howard is more careful and weighs what might go wrong. That difference drives much of the story.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1869
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Ellis, Edward Sylvester. Adrift in the Wilds; Or, the Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/adrift-in-the-wilds-or-the-adventures-of-two-shipwrecked-boys.
Ellis, E. S. (2026). Adrift in the wilds; or, the adventures of two shipwrecked boys. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/adrift-in-the-wilds-or-the-adventures-of-two-shipwrecked-boys (Original work published 1869)
Ellis, Edward Sylvester. Adrift in the Wilds; Or, the Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/adrift-in-the-wilds-or-the-adventures-of-two-shipwrecked-boys.
@book{ellis2026adrift,
author = {Ellis, Edward Sylvester},
title = {Adrift in the Wilds; Or, the Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/adrift-in-the-wilds-or-the-adventures-of-two-shipwrecked-boys},
note = {First published 1869}
}
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What is Adrift in the Wilds about?
It follows cousins Elwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence and their guardian Tim O'Rooney after their steamer burns off the California coast. They swim ashore, face wild animals and hostile hunters, and try to reach San Francisco.
Who is Shasta in Adrift in the Wilds?
Shasta is the name the friends give to a sick Pah Utah man they find on a river island. After they nurse him, he becomes a skilled guide who paddles, fishes and protects them on the journey.
Is Adrift in the Wilds a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction by Edward Sylvester Ellis. It was written in the 1800s as an adventure for young readers and draws on the real setting of California's coast and the Salinas Valley.
The author
Edward Sylvester Ellis
1840–1916 · American novelist and historical writer
Edward Sylvester Ellis (1840–1916) was an American novelist and nonfiction writer. He was born in Geneva, Ohio, and worked as a teacher in New Jersey. He wrote adventure stories for young readers, including the Deerfoot books, as well as histories and biographies. He died in Maine.
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