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A "thrilling . . . captivating" account of the most famous shipwreck before the Titanic—a tragedy that inspired an unforgettable masterpiece of Western art (The Boston Globe).
In June 1816, the Medusa set sail. Commanded by an incompetent captain, the frigate ran aground off the desolate West African coast. During the chaotic evacuation a privileged few claimed the lifeboats, while 147 men and one woman were herded aboard a makeshift raft that was soon cut loose by the boats that had pledged to tow it to safety.
Those on the boats made it ashore and undertook a two-hundred-mile trek through the sweltering Sahara, but conditions were far worse on the drifting raft. Crazed, parched, and starving, the diminishing band fell into mayhem. When rescue arrived thirteen days later, only fifteen were alive.
Among the handful of survivors were two men whose bestselling account of the maritime disaster scandalized Europe and inspired promising artist Théodore Géricault, who threw himself into a study of the Medusa tragedy, turning it into a vast canvas in his painting, The Raft of the Medusa.
Drawing on contemporaneously published accounts and journals of survivors, The Wreck of the Medusa is "a captivating gem about art's relation to history" (Booklist) and ultimately "a thrilling read" (The Guardian).
“The story of the wreck of the Medusa and the churning cultural machinations around it does make for a compelling read.” —Publishers Weekly
“Miles proves to be both an astute art historian and a dramatic chronicler of the catastrophe. . . . Relating [the painting’s] popular reception, along with the subsequent lives of artist and subject, Miles crafts a captivating gem about art’s relation to history,” —Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
“[The Wreck of the Medusa] is an exciting and highly readable adventure story with skillfully interwoven narratives of a famous sea disaster and the political trials of Restoration France. . . . The strength of [Miles’] book is its ability to tell many tales at once. . . . Miles is also careful to explain how public interest in the case evolved and how the resulting uproar played a role in turning popular opinion in a more liberal direction.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Miles not only parses the event itself, but examines its broader impact on a French nation in sociopolitical turmoil . . . Miles ably marshals the sweep of these events and documents how Corréard’s text and Gáricault’s painting ratcheted up the political conflict. Diligent deconstruction of a shipwreck and a scandal.” —Kirkus Reviews
“With powerful prose and riveting detail, Jonathan Miles has taken the story behind one of the world’s most famous paintings and woven it into a timeless tale of betrayal and survival.” —Candice Millard, author of The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey
“Hard to put down, this truly horrendous tale plumbs the depths of brutality and incompetence, as well as touching the bounds of human survival. The saga of Gericault’s Medusa also illuminates vividly a little known period of French history—those muddy years that followed the collapse of Waterloo.” —Alistair Horne, author of La Belle France and The Savage War of Peace
“A fascinating look into the machinations of Restoration France revolving around the horrific wreck of an Africa-bound ship and the famed painting it inspired that stirred all of Europe. The spellbinding characters and lucid writing make this a genuine page-turner.” —Winston F. Groom, author of 1942 and Patriotic Fire
Jonathan Miles is the author of David Jones: The Maker Unmade. He lives in Paris.