James Cook’s New World
A NOVEL BY Graeme Lay
The sensational fictionalised account of James Cook's
extraordinary second voyage of discovery from the tropical isles of Polynesia
to the icy seas of the great
Southern Ocean, the furthest south anyone had ever sailed.
The year is 1771.
James Cook, recently returned from his first, epic world voyage, is promoted to
captain and instructed to embark on a search for the last undiscovered
landmass, the Great Unknown Southern Continent.
This proves to be
one of the longest and most perilous voyages ever undertaken. Like an
18th-century Ulysses, Cook drives himself and his men onward, traversing the
entire South Pacific, putting into place the last pieces of Earth’s great
jigsaw puzzle.
'Cook's
second world voyage represented the zenith of his achievements,’ says author Graeme Lay. ‘It's one of the greatest sea stories of all time. Sailing well
within the Antarctic Circle and tacking among what Cook called 'ice
mountains' (icebergs) was an astonishing feat. Anyone who has sailed on a yacht can
appreciate this!
What I've tried to do in James Cook's New World is convey to the reader the
intense physical and mental hardships which Cook's second
world circumnavigation involved, for the captain and his crew. And again,
in the private journal James keeps for Elizabeth, which is an
integral aspect of the story, we are able to share his most intimate thoughts
and feelings during the voyage'.
As in the bestselling first novel in the series, The
Secret Life of James Cook, published in 2013, Lay once again takes the
reader on an amazing voyage of discovery with Cook. The colourfully
imagined descriptions of life on board the Resolution, Cook’s relationships
with his crew and other members of the expedition, the infinitely long periods
of time at sea, the descriptions of strange new lands and the intimate journal
he keeps for his wife Elizabeth, come together to create a powerful impression
of a man now lost to history.
‘My curiosity about Cook, and my
admiration for the man who had played such a pivotal role in my country’s
history, intensified. His manifold achievements, considering his unprivileged
beginnings, were extraordinary,’ Lay says.
‘Questions were raised in my mind that
remained unanswered. Why did the young James Cook reject secure employment in a
Staithes grocery store? What drew him to a life at sea when there was no
maritime tradition in his family? Why did he turn his back on a secure job in
the merchant marine in exchange for a more perilous career in the Royal Navy?
How did he meet the woman who became his wife? What sort of a life did they
have together during his times ashore? How did his leadership qualities
develop?
Writing fiction is like self-hypnosis. Every
day I had to vicariously walk alongside James, I was with him all the way,
whether he was wooing Elizabeth, aloft on Resolution in a gale or seeing
for the first time the spellbinding mountains of Tahiti. The purely invented bits were
the ones I enjoyed writing most.’
About the author:
Graeme
Lay is a
full-time writer and editor. He has
published short stories, fiction for adults and young adults and collections of
travel writing. He has a deep interest in the history and cultures of the South
Pacific islands. He was born in Foxton, New Zealand, and grew up in coastal Taranaki, which imbued
him with a lifelong love of the sea.
After graduating from Victoria University
of Wellington in 1967 he lived overseas for some years, then returned to New
Zealand to live on Auckland’s North Shore.
First published in 1978, he has
written novels for adults and young adults, as well as collections of short
stories and travel writing and several non-fiction works. Many of his books are
set in the islands of the South Pacific. A past secretary of the Frank Sargeson
Trust, he writes from his home in the marine suburb of Devonport. He is married
to Gillian and they have three adult children.
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