14 h 55 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A ship sails north under orders from a captain no one aboard has ever met.
In Jules Verne’s The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras, the brig Forward leaves England equipped for the ice. Richard Shandon runs the ship, but its unseen captain directs the voyage through written orders. As the crew heads north, uncertainty grows: who commands them, and how far must they go?
When John Hatteras reveals himself, his goal is clear: to become the first man to reach the North Pole. Ice traps the Forward, cold tests the men, and faith in their leader begins to weaken. Beside Hatteras stands Doctor Clawbonny, whose curiosity and kindness offer a different kind of strength.
What you’ll discover
- A captain consumed by purpose Meet a fearless sailor whose fixed goal makes courage and obsession hard to separate.
- Life between the floes Follow the Forward as shifting ice catches, releases, and traps the ship again.
- Warmth in the cold Find steady company in Doctor Clawbonny, who shares knowledge and keeps his shipmates’ spirits alive.
- Science along the way Explore Arctic geography and the science of cold through Verne’s pauses amid the struggle.
- The cost of command Watch trust strain as Hatteras presses toward his goal and his crew loses faith.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like classic exploration tales, polar history, and stories where character is tested by hardship. It may be less suited to anyone who wants fast modern pacing, since Verne pauses often for geography and science.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A ship sails without its captain
- The captain appears and names his goal
- Ice, cold and a crew losing faith
- Winter shelter and a stranger on the ice
- What the novel says about obsession
- How Verne tells the tale
Who’s who
- John HatterasThe English captain of the Forward, a skilled and fearless sailor who is set on being the first man to reach the North Pole.
- Doctor ClawbonnyThe ship's surgeon and man of science, kind and curious, who explains the Arctic to his shipmates and keeps their spirits up.
- Richard ShandonThe first mate who runs the ship while the captain is unseen, and who hoped to hold command himself.
- JohnsonThe old boatswain, experienced in northern waters, loyal and steady, who tries to keep order among the men.
- AltamontA proud American met in the far north, whose own ambitions set up a rivalry with Hatteras.
- DukHatteras's dog and loyal companion, who travels with the party across the ice.
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
by Jules Verne· 1864
A captain drives his crew north through Arctic ice.
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Language: English
“We are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A ship sails without its captain
The novel opens in England with the brig Forward, a sturdy ship built for the ice. Her owners have fitted her out with great care, with strong timbers, plenty of stores and a crew chosen with skill. Yet the man who is supposed to command her never shows his face. The crew receives a letter instead, signed only with two mysterious initials.
The ship is run in practice by Richard Shandon, her first mate. He is a capable seaman who hopes the captaincy will fall to him. Beside him is old Johnson, the boatswain, a veteran of Arctic waters who has seen what the cold does to men and ships. The sailors grumble as the coast of England drops behind them. A ship with no captain is a strange thing, and they begin to whisper about why.
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The author
Jules Verne
1828–1905 · French adventure novelist
Jules Verne was a French writer born in Nantes in 1828. He lived in Paris and later in Amiens, where he died in 1905. His novels include Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
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What is The Adventures of Captain Hatteras about?
It follows the crew of the brig Forward as they sail into the Arctic under a mysterious captain, John Hatteras, whose goal is to reach the North Pole. It is a tale of ice, survival and obsession.
Who is Captain Hatteras?
Hatteras is an English sailor and the commander of the Forward. He is brave and skilled but driven by a single aim, to be the first to reach the North Pole for England.
Is Captain Hatteras a true story?
No, it is fiction. Verne wrote it in the 1860s, drawing on the real Arctic expeditions and the geographic ideas of his time, but the characters and the voyage are invented.
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