In Stowaway: New World Adventure, the tales of the New World with its brown natives and wild animals and endless seas of trees and untamed wilderness had captivated Alfred Wellers’ imagination for as long as he could recall. His wealthy and influential family had provided him with everything he could have possibly wanted, and yet he found himself burning with a passion for adventure that lay beyond the manicured lawns of his family estate. When his father casually mentions an upcoming expedition in search of a secret passageway to the Pacific upon the Dutch ship Half Moon, Alfred’s mind is consumed with thoughts of adventure on the high seas, of danger and courage and possibly even sea monsters. Night after night he slips away to gaze upon the creaking ship as she gently rocks beside the dock, and he pictures himself aboard her deck side by side with her rough and salty crew. The idea that he’d be hired on is absurd. Even though half the ship’s crew speaks Dutch, English Captain Henry Hudson will never agree to take on the son of the person most responsible for the powers that be sanctioning this voyage in the first place. While Captain Hudson respects Mr. Wellers, he trusts nobody associated with the Amsterdam elite, and would view the younger Wellers as a spy. Nor would Mr. Wellers ever grant permission for his son to go on such a voyage.
Undaunted, young Alfred hatches a scheme to slip aboard the Half Moon unnoticed, convinced that if he waits to reveal himself as a stowaway until after the ship makes it out to sea the Captain will have little choice but to put him to work. With starry eyes and dreams of adventure and glory, he stows away, clueless to the dangerous life aboard a merchant ship where fights are a given and stowaways are often pitched overboard. The crew turns out to be a motley mix of English and Dutch, neither understanding the other but both sides regularly threatening mutiny. Captain Hudson has little patience for their complaints, and even less for an unproven boy, but Alfred soon proves to be his father’s son, and amid the high seas slowly earns the respect from captain and crew alike with his remarkable interpreting and diplomatic skills. Inhumane acts & talks of Mutiny
But life aboard the Half Moon soon loses its appeal for young Alfred Wellers. Disenchanted with the crew’s penchant for violence and overall incompetence, and fearing they may toss him overboard rather than risk returning to Amsterdam to inform the commission of their heinous behavior, he chooses to stay behind in the New World he’d read so much about. There he will set off for an adventure of a lifetime.
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REVIEWS:
Reviewer Jessica calls this early American historical fiction the “Best book I’ve read all year. Alfred Wellers is an outstanding work of historical fiction, with loads of danger & adventure perfectly mixed with historical events. . .”
Reviewer Angel on this coming of age novel: “Historical fiction at its best. . .a beautifully written, heart-earming story of a young boy who takes his future into his own hands. . .”
Reviewer Erica Lucas refers to this great travel adventure book as an “Engrossing and Fast-Paced Historical Adventure. . .following the adventures and coming of age of a young Dutch boy named Alfred Wellers. . .”
Categories:
- early american historical fiction
- Action & Adventure Literary Fiction
- Historical Literary Fiction
- U.S. Historical Fiction
- Teen & Young Adult Historical Fiction eBooks
