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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
At fifteen, Dick Sands must command a ship—and protect its passengers from dangers he cannot yet see.
The Pilgrim sails from New Zealand toward America. Aboard is Dick Sands, a young sailor whose discipline faces a sudden test when Captain Hull and his experienced sailors are lost pursuing a whale. Dick must take command, with Mrs. Weldon and her young son, Jack, depending on him.
But wind and water are not his only enemies. The cook, Negoro, hides dangerous intentions, and deception undermines Dick’s efforts to reach safety. As the journey moves into Africa, survival means confronting the violence of the slave trade. Jules Verne sets practical courage against greed, cruelty, and the peril of trusting the wrong person.
What you’ll discover
- A captain at fifteen Follow Dick as he shoulders adult responsibilities with practical sense and courage.
- Danger behind a familiar face Watch Negoro’s concealed intentions threaten a group already struggling to survive.
- Strength joined with loyalty Meet Hercules, a rescued man whose strength and loyalty help sustain the struggle.
- Clues in the natural world Animals, geography, and Benedict’s fascination with insects bring discovery alongside danger.
- An adventure against cruelty Explore Verne’s fierce condemnation of slavery as organised violence driven by greed.
Who will love it
Readers who love brisk sea adventures, resourceful young heroes, faithful dogs and comic scholars will enjoy this novel. It also suits those drawn to nineteenth century exploration and the struggle against slavery.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A homeward voyage carries unexpected stakes
- Dick thinks before he acts
- A rescue brings allies and questions
- A whale hunt changes everything
- A false compass betrays careful leadership
- A helpful stranger earns uneasy trust
- The forest exposes the guide's lie
- Courage means responsibility toward other people
- Trust and duty hold the adventure together
Who’s who
- Dick SandsA fifteen-year-old orphan and apprentice sailor who must take command of the Pilgrim and protect the passengers in his care.
- Mrs. WeldonA brave, spirited wife and mother who trusts Dick and tries to bring her small son safely home to San Francisco.
- JackHer five-year-old son, lively and affectionate, who loves Dick, Hercules and the dog Dingo.
- Cousin BenedictAn absent-minded amateur entomologist who cares about nothing but rare insects and cannot manage everyday life.
- NegoroThe Portuguese cook, silent and secretive, who has a hidden past and a hidden plan for the ship.
- HerculesA giant, good-natured freeborn American who adores Jack and wants only to help the party stay together.
- TomThe wise old spokesman of five rescued Americans, who knows Africa from his childhood and tries to guide the young captain.
- DingoA huge mastiff with the letters S V on his collar, who hates Negoro and seems to remember a lost master.
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Dick Sands, the Boy Captain
by Jules Verne · 1878
A fifteen-year-old apprentice takes command of a drifting schooner while the cook secretly bends its compass.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“We are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne.”
In short
What would you do at fifteen, alone on a ship in the middle of the Pacific, with a mother and her small son depending on you? That is the question facing Dick Sands, an orphan apprentice on the whaling schooner Pilgrim.
Dick Sands, the Boy Captain at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 15 min5 h fast, 7 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 89,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1878by Jules Verne
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A small whaler takes passengers home
The story opens on February 2, 1873, in the cold southern Pacific. The schooner Pilgrim belongs to James Weldon, a shipowner in San Francisco. Her captain, Hull, is a skilled harpooner, but the season has gone badly, and he has dismissed his rebellious whalemen in Auckland.
There he receives a request he cannot refuse. Weldon's wife wants to sail home on her husband's ship with her small son Jack and Nan, an elderly woman who has looked after her since childhood. With them comes Cousin Benedict, a tall, thin, hopeless man who collects insects and pins them to his hat. He values his rare beetle above the whole cargo of oil.
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Details
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- 1878
- Language
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- Level
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Cite this edition
Verne, Jules. Dick Sands, the Boy Captain. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/dick-sands-the-boy-captain.
Verne, J. (2026). Dick Sands, the boy captain. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/dick-sands-the-boy-captain (Original work published 1878)
Verne, Jules. Dick Sands, the Boy Captain. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/dick-sands-the-boy-captain.
@book{verne2026dick,
author = {Verne, Jules},
title = {Dick Sands, the Boy Captain},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/dick-sands-the-boy-captain},
note = {First published 1878}
}
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What is Dick Sands, the Boy Captain about?
It follows a fifteen-year-old apprentice who takes command of the whaling schooner Pilgrim after the captain is lost. He must bring a mother, her child and five rescued men to safety, while a hidden enemy tries to lead them astray.
Who is Negoro in Dick Sands, the Boy Captain?
Negoro is the Portuguese cook hired in Auckland. He is secretive and mistrusted, and the dog Dingo hates him. His past and his plans are the main mystery that drives both halves of the novel.
What do the letters S V on Dingo's collar mean?
The letters are the dog's only clue to his past. Captain Hull links them to the French explorer Samuel Vernon, who vanished in Africa in 1871, and the idea shapes the whole mystery of the book.
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).
“Audentes fortuna juvat!”
More by Jules Verne
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