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Audiobook edition · 7 h 28 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What do courage and honor mean when you are cut loose from safety on Lake Champlain?
In All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club, Oliver Optic brings a boy's daring voyage to the waters of Lake Champlain. The lake becomes a testing ground for courage and judgment, where relying on yourself means more than simply being bold.
The Goldwing Club brings friendship and group loyalty into this adventure. A shared name and purpose give the boys a world of their own. Alongside the pull of the water runs a question: how do you think for yourself while treating others with fairness?
What you’ll discover
- Adventure on Lake Champlain Enter a waterborne adventure where a boy's voyage puts courage and judgment to the test.
- Friendship with a purpose Discover how the Goldwing Club gives friendship a shared name, purpose, and sense of loyalty.
- Courage guided by judgment Explore the link between daring action and the need to think for yourself.
- Honor in everyday choices Find an adventure shaped by honesty, hard work, and the duty to treat others fairly.
- Growing into self-reliance Follow a coming-of-age story that asks what it means to stand on your own.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like boats, lakes and sailing, boys who think fast and keep their word, and old-fashioned adventure where honesty wins.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boat offers a fresh start
- Dory helps before asking questions
- Dory trusts his own judgment
- Understanding the fault makes repair possible
- Knowledge outmaneuvers a stronger pursuer
- A promise puts trust under strain
- Dory faces danger and unwanted help
- Honesty needs guidance and useful work
- Knowledge and loyalty shape Dory's course
Who’s who
- Dory DornwoodA quick, honest fourteen-year-old boatman who wants to earn money for his mother and keeps a promise he made to a stranger.
- Pearl HawlinshedA reckless young man who wants the Goldwing and money, and who chases Dory to get both.
- Basil HawlinshedPearl's father, a farmer who rewards Dory's help and wants only to hide his son's act and save him from ruin.
- Captain Royal GildrockA rich retired shipmaster and Dory's uncle, who owns the steam yacht Sylph and has plans for the Goldwing boys.
- Mr. PeppersA former New York detective hired to find the thief in the Plattsburgh hotel, who needs Dory's boat to catch his man.
- Thad GloveringAn orphan living with his uncle, loyal to Dory and ready to fight anyone who calls him a thief.
- Corny MinkfieldA joking, doubtful participant in the club from a family with some property, quick to suspect Dory and slow to trust.
- Major BillcordA bad-tempered steamer passenger who gets Dory fired for no good reason.
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All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club 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.
All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club
by Oliver Optic · 1882
A fourteen-year-old with a hundred dollars buys a sailboat everyone says will drown him.
Medium level2–5 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What would you do with a hundred dollars if you were fourteen, out of work, and the son of a pilot who spends his pay on whiskey? Dory Dornwood buys a sailboat that half of Lake Champlain believes will drown its owner.
All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 55 min3 h 5 min fast, 4 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 55,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1882by Oliver Optic
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 dish of onions and a shot in the woods
The story opens in the cabin of a Lake Champlain steamer. Dory Dornwood, fourteen, is filling in as a waiter and is new to the work. A passenger named Major Billcord demands pickles, then well-cooked boiled onions. Nothing Dory brings is right, and other passengers shout their own orders at the same moment.
Dory is polite and does his best. He carries the major's complaint to the steward and brings back the onions the steward sends. Still the major calls him careless and insolent. The steward is too careful to take the boy's side. After the meal Dory is fired.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1882
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Optic, Oliver. All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/all-adrift-or-the-goldwing-club.
Optic, O. (2026). All adrift; or, the Goldwing Club. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/all-adrift-or-the-goldwing-club (Original work published 1882)
Optic, Oliver. All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/all-adrift-or-the-goldwing-club.
@book{optic2026all,
author = {Optic, Oliver},
title = {All Adrift; Or, the Goldwing Club},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/all-adrift-or-the-goldwing-club},
note = {First published 1882}
}
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What is All Adrift by Oliver Optic about?
It follows a boy named Dory Dornwood, who buys a sailboat with a bad reputation, shares her with his existing club, and is chased across Lake Champlain while keeping a promise he made to a stranger.
Who is Pearl Hawlinshed?
Pearl is the troubled young man who wants the Goldwing for himself. He is the son of Dory's new friend, and he chases Dory by steamer and then by force, claiming Dory stole money.
What is a lee helm in this book?
A lee helm is a fault where a boat falls away from the wind in a gust instead of turning into it, which can tip her over. Dory explains it to his friends and fixes the Goldwing.
The author
Oliver Optic
1822–1897 · American children's author
Oliver Optic was the pen name of William Taylor Adams (1822–1897), an American author and teacher. Born in Medway, Massachusetts, he lived and worked in Boston. He wrote books for young readers during the nineteenth century, including The Yacht Club and Little by Little. He also served in the Massachusetts legislature.
More by Oliver Optic
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