8 h 0 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 0 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Beyond the sails and open water lies a workplace where hard labour, harsh weather, and survival shape a sailor’s life.
In The Shellback’s Progress in the Nineteenth Century, Walter Runciman turns toward the common seaman’s changing world. A shellback is an old sailor, seasoned by long years at sea and a crossing of the equator. Here, the sailing age comes into view from the forecastle, where the crew lives.
Runciman brings close knowledge of ships and their crews to this account of working life. Daily labour and dangerous weather share the page with the harsh habits of life aboard. Alongside these pressures runs the question of change: how laws and public concern begin to touch sailors’ safety, food, and living space.
What you’ll discover
- Life in the forecastle See the sailing age from the crew’s quarters, close to the common seaman’s daily concerns.
- The weight of work Encounter a world where the ship is a workplace before it is an adventure.
- Weather with real stakes Feel the danger that storms, ice, fog, and rocky coasts bring to life at sea.
- A sailor’s changing lot Explore the slow pressure for better ship safety, crew food, and room to live.
- Fear and boredom aboard Look beyond sea adventure to the ordinary people who face both danger and weary routine.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy true sea yarns, storm and shipwreck, and the humour of rough crews will find plenty here. It also suits anyone curious about how Victorian sailors lived, ate, argued and prayed.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A shipowner remembers the men who sailed before steam
- A leaking brig runs north before the hurricane
- Captain Plunker clings to his old brig until his heart breaks
- Captain Macgregor shows how drink ruins a brilliant master
- A young Scot rises fast and hears of pirates
- Red tape and brigands wait at Scutari
- Sailors held strong opinions on kings, generals and politicians
- Mary Routledge shows kindness and cruelty in a village
- The forecastle was a world of pride, pranks and peril
- Short rations, bad food and tall tales shaped sailors' faith
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Il progresso dello shellback nel XIX secolo
by Walter Runciman · 1904
A leaking brig runs north before a hurricane until the daylight fails, and her exhausted crew keeps pumping.
Challenging2–5 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do if your ship were sinking, and the only way to stay alive were to run north into the dark? That is the choice faced by the crew of a leaking brig in the first sketch of this book.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A shipowner remembers the men who sailed before steam
Walter Runciman wrote these sketches in 1904 and tells the reader in his preface that the tales are drawn from real life. The book reads like a man talking aloud, stopping to scold a villain, share a joke or mourn a friend.
He went to sea at about twelve and a half, and he later rose to be a shipowner. So he knows the world from two sides, the forecastle and the counting house. He calls the sailors brave, rugged, simple, kindhearted and, at times, unmercifully savage, with a humorous kind of religion of their own.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
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
- 1904
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 5 h 10 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Runciman, Walter. The Shellback's Progress in the Nineteenth Century. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-shellbacks-progress-in-the-nineteenth-century.
Runciman, W. (2026). The shellback's progress in the nineteenth century. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-shellbacks-progress-in-the-nineteenth-century (Original work published 1904)
Runciman, Walter. The Shellback's Progress in the Nineteenth Century. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-shellbacks-progress-in-the-nineteenth-century.
@book{runciman2026shellbacks,
author = {Runciman, Walter},
title = {The Shellback's Progress in the Nineteenth Century},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-shellbacks-progress-in-the-nineteenth-century},
note = {First published 1904}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Il progresso dello shellback nel XIX secolo
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Shellback's Progress in the Nineteenth Century about?
It is a collection of nine sketches about British sailing-ship life, from storms and shipwrecks to pirates, forecastle customs, food and drink. Walter Runciman draws on his own years at sea and on tales he heard as an apprentice.
What does shellback mean?
A shellback is an old-fashioned name for a seasoned sailor, one toughened by long years on the sea. Runciman uses it for the rough, loyal crews and captains of the age of sail.
Is The Shellback's Progress a true story?
The author says the stories are drawn from real life. They mix his own memories, tales told by shipmates, and legends of the forecastle. He wrote them in 1904 about the sailing trade of the nineteenth century.
The author
Walter Runciman
1847–1937 · British politician
Walter Runciman (1847–1937) was a British politician. The library has The Shellback's Progress in the Nineteenth Century.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
