The English Dane

From King of Iceland to Tasmanian Convict

Sarah Bakewell

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Paperback

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English

Vintage
01 May 2006

Biography; Biography: general; Biography: historical, political & military; Expeditions

'A rollicking, roistering yarn about one of the most extraordinary adventurers of all time, written with the care of a true scholar adn the verve of a born storyteller. A triumph' - Magnus Magnusson

This gripping nineteenth-century adventure stars Jorgen Jorgenson, who ran away to sea at fourteen and began a brilliant career by sailing to establish the first colony in Tasmania. Twists of fortune then found him captaining a warship for Napoleon before joining a British trading voyage to Iceland, where he staged an outrageous coup and ruled the country for two months.

Much lay ahead, from imprisonment in the hulks to patronage by Joseph Banks and travels in Europe as a British spy. But Jorgenson was dogged by his own excesses, and ended up transported as a convict to the very colony he helped to found. Here he reinvented himself again as an explorer, and, despite his sympathy for the people, was caught up in the terrible Aboriginal clearances. Using unpublished sources and letters, Sarah Bakewell tells his astonishing tale with dazzling verve.

By: Sarah Bakewell
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 245g
ISBN: 9780099438069
ISBN 10: 0099438062
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 01 May 2006
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sarah Bakewell was until recently a Curator at the Wellcome Institute Library, London. She recently curated an exhibition with Marina Warner for the Science Museum and is the author of The Smart. She spent part of her childhood & adolescence in Australia, where her parents now live.

Reviews for The English Dane: From King of Iceland to Tasmanian Convict

""Bakewell is superbly matched to the task. Her account of the world encountered by Jorgenson is as rich and nuanced as her description of his life"" Independent ""Precise, amusing and intriguing. A vivid and moving portrait of an extraordinary but flawed man... A terrific book"" Daily Telegraph ""Sarah Bakewell has a fine story to tell, and she is its skilled servant...A wonderful, intelligently told story"" -- Thomas Keneally Guardian ""Splendid... An extraordinary story brilliantly told"" Australian ""An accomplished book"" Sunday Times