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Nautical Fiction

Nautical fiction is about as close to sailing the high seas as you can get these days. If that sounds a little depressing, remember that real sailors had to contend with all manner of disease, loneliness, bugs, pirates (who were not fun and not glamorous), shipwrecks, storms, mutiny, madness, poor (or non-existent) sanitation, frequent injury....basically, really bad stuff was lurking behind every coil of rope or powder keg, sometimes in them.

From that perspective, living vicariously through Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey, Fletcher Christian, Ishmael, and Nathaniel Bowditch seems like a pretty great alternative. The fact that many of those characters were the inventions of seafaring men who knew what it was like out there on the blue and harsh ocean simply makes these stories all the more believable and fascinating.

It's usually not a good idea for writers to clutter their fiction with jargon—it can distract us from the narrative, frustrate us because we don't know exactly what's going on, or slow us down because we have to look up every other word. Stories about sailors, ships and the sea, however, need the technical terminology to help establish the authentic atmosphere, and in most cases it does exactly that whether you know the terms or not.

These are some of our favorite books at Exodus. Sailing maintains a romantic appeal that steamships and automated consoles have failed to render obsolete, and these writers give us exactly the elements we want: the danger, the fear, the glory. If you've got enough imagination to imagine running away and serving as cabin boy aboard a man o' war, you've got enough to imagine similar adventures on these pages.

Some of the best writers of all time wrote sea stories. Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad, Herman Melville—men whose love of words enabled them to transcribe their love of the water for generations to come. As long as they're read, the creaking of masts and the crack of sails will remind us of the days before man believed he'd mastered the sea, when the sea clearly still mastered him.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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58 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), In-Stock Books & Materials
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
All Sail Set
by Armstrong Sperry
from David R. Godine
Nautical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Black Buccaneer
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Stephen W. Meader
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Blood
Penguin Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Penguin Classics
Historical Romance for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Captains Courageous
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Captains Courageous
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Living Book Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch - Audio CD
by Jean Lee Latham
from Well-Trained Mind Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$32.95
Coot Club
Swallows and Amazons #5
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Cruise of the Arctic Star
by Scott O'Dell
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 6th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$13.95
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1924 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes, illustrated by Warrenn Chappell
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Dover 2018 from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1924 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Far Lands
by James Norman Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Flint's Island
by Leonard Wibberley
from Bethlehem Books
Nautical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.95
Great Northern?
Swallows and Amazons #12
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Quest
by Charles Boardman Hawes
from CreateSpace
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.95
Horatio Hornblower Saga - Complete Collection
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$149.49
Hornblower and the Atropos
Hornblower Series #5
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Hornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower Series #3
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Hornblower During the Crisis
Hornblower Series #4
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
John of the Sirius
by Doris Chadwick
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.95
Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson; illustrated by William Sharp
from Random House
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower Series #2
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Lord Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Missee Lee
Swallows and Amazons #10
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Hornblower Series #1
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Mutineers
by Charles Boardman Hawes
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Orphans of the Wind
from Dell Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Picts & the Martyrs
Swallows and Amazons #11
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pigeon Post
Swallows and Amazons #6
by Arthur Ransome, illustrated by Mary Shepard
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
1936 Carnegie Medal
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
Pigeon Post
Swallows and Amazons #6
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Scanlon of the Sub Service
A Doubleday Signal Book
by Dan Senseney, illustrated by Ray Johnson
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Secret Water
Swallows and Amazons #8
by Arthur Ransome
Revised from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.95
Squalls Before War
by Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Swallows & Amazons Collection
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
Family stories/boating for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.95
Swallows and Amazons for Ever!
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
Family stories/boating for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
The Hurricane
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Puffin Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Treasure Island
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Mervyn Peake
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
$17.95
Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
from Grosset & Dunlap
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Deluxe from Atheneum
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by William Sharp
from Grosset & Dunlap
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Lawrence
from Candlewick Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated with stills from 1934 MGM film
from Grosset & Dunlap
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, Michael Clay Thompson
from Royal Fireworks Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (Location: GRA-MCT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Macmillan Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Falter
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eleonore Schmid
from New York Graphic Society
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Two Years Before the Mast (abridged)
by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Voyage of the Frog
by Gary Paulsen
Revised from Yearling
for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea
Swallows and Amazons #7
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
Winter Holiday
Swallows and Amazons #4
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95 $9.00 (2 in stock)
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