11 h 27 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 11 h 27 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it take to persuade a divided country to back a voyage beyond the known world?
In Mary Johnston’s historical novel 1492, Spain stands on the edge of change. Several kingdoms and faiths share a country finishing its long struggle with the Moorish kingdom of Granada. Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor, holds to a bold plan: reach the Indies by sailing west. But belief alone cannot put his voyage to sea.
Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon hold the power Columbus needs. Their court is a world of councils, petitions and hard choices, where war, money and the crown’s future compete for attention. Johnston brings faith, ambition and fear into a sweeping adventure that asks what people carry with them when they leave familiar shores.
What you’ll discover
- A country at a crossroads Enter a Spain of crowns, cathedrals, soldiers and sailors, caught between conflict and change.
- One sailor’s stubborn belief Follow Columbus as he seeks support for a western route that learned men doubt.
- Power behind the voyage Meet Isabella and Ferdinand where a sailor’s hopes confront the demands of the crown.
- Beyond the familiar shore Explore what discovery means when ambition draws people away from the world they know.
- History with a romantic spirit Feel the faith, fear and longing that give this historical adventure its human pull.
Who will love it
Readers who love sea voyages, Spanish courts and the first meetings between Europe and the Americas, and who like history told through one close, thoughtful eyewitness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A hunted scholar hides behind a sailor's name
- The road to Santa Fe fills with strangers
- A stubborn seaman is turned back and recalled
- Three small ships sail beyond the known world
- Landfall brings wonder, gold fever and misunderstanding
- A wrecked flagship leaves men behind at La Navidad
- Seventeen ships return and the colony turns harsh
- Gold and power put the dream under pressure
- What the book is really about and how it is told
Who’s who
- Jayme de MarchenaA learned Spaniard with a Jewish grandmother who hides under the name Juan Lepe and becomes ship's doctor to Columbus.
- Christopher ColumbusA silver-haired Genoese seaman who believes God has chosen him to sail west and demands great honors for it.
- Fray Juan PerezThe prior of La Rabida, a kind and visionary friend of Columbus and a distant kinsman of Jayme.
- Don Enrique de CerdaA nobleman whose life Jayme once saved, and who now tries to protect him at Santa Fe.
- Martin PinzonA proud shipowner and captain of the Pinta who backs the voyage and wants fame of his own.
- GuarinA young priest and healer on Hispaniola who teaches Jayme his people's ways.
- GuacanagariA big, easygoing chief who welcomes the Spaniards and tries to keep peace with them.
- Bartholomew ColumbusThe Admiral's strong, practical brother, who helps hold the Spanish colony together.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 27 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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1492
by Mary Johnston · 1922
A scholar on the run signs on as a sailor with Christopher Columbus and becomes a ship's doctor on the voyage west.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What if the man who dreams up a voyage is not the one telling it? Mary Johnston's novel 1492 follows Christopher Columbus through the eyes of Jayme de Marchena, a Spanish scholar hiding from the Inquisition under a sailor's name.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hunted scholar hides behind a sailor's name
Jayme de Marchena is a thinker in danger. His grandmother was Jewish, and his writings have angered a Dominican. His enemy Don Pedro urges his banishment with the Jews, but the Dominican wants the Inquisition to take him. The novel opens as he sits by the gray sea near Palos and even thinks of drowning himself.
Then the ocean seems to speak to him, and a stubborn hope rises. He walks to the convent of La Rabida to see his distant kinsman, Fray Juan Perez. The prior is kind and broad-minded, but he cannot protect a suspected heretic, so he urges Jayme to flee to Africa. A bold shipowner named Martin Pinzon walks in during the visit, and Jayme leaves without a word to him.
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What is 1492 by Mary Johnston about?
It is a novel of the voyages of Christopher Columbus, told by Jayme de Marchena, a Spanish scholar who hides from the Inquisition as the sailor Juan Lepe and sails with the Admiral as his doctor.
Who is Juan Lepe in 1492?
Juan Lepe is the false name of Jayme de Marchena, who flees the Inquisition. He works as a sailor and ship's doctor and tells the whole story in his own voice.
Is 1492 a true story?
It tells the voyages as a novel, through Jayme's personal account. Scenes of conversation, danger and reflection bring Columbus, La Navidad and Isabella into the story.
The author
Mary Johnston
1870–1936 · American novelist and suffragist
American novelist and women's rights advocate.
More by Mary Johnston
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