Women and Children Last - The Burning of the Emigrant Ship Cospatrick

Note - fading on spine and cover
A sea voyage in the nineteenth century was not for the faint-hearted. The hazards were many and accidents commonplace. Of the ways a ship might meet its end, destruction by fire was perhaps the most feared. Wooden sailing vessels were particularly vulnerable. Without breathing apparatus, it was next to impossible to fight a fire below decks. This period saw a number of catastrophic shipboard fires, but that involving the New Zealand-bound emigrant ship Cospatrick was certainly the most destructive. When she burned and sank off the coast of Southern Africa in 1874, nearly 500 people lost their lives. Tragic events included a desperate battle to quench the fire, a huge death toll as the vessel was being abandoned, and acts of cannibalism in the one lifeboat that remained afloat. Women and Children Last - based on research carried out in Britain, New Zealand, and Australia - presents a compelling well-written history of the Cospatrick and the nightmare survival of only three people, while also looking at the larger picture of safety at sea...