Book Review: Captain Cook's Apprentice

Teen Historical Fiction: James Cook’s First Round the World Voyage

Sep 22, 2008

In 1768 James Cook set out on a journey that led him to the eastern coast of New Holland. This is the story of that adventure told by Isaac Manley, a 13-year-old boy.

Award-winning author Anthony Hill offers an engaging and thoughtful account of a familiar event in both Australian and world navigation history in Captain Cook’s Apprentice (Penguin, 2008). He follows the journey of Lieutenant James Cook and his crew as they circumnavigate the globe and map the east coast of Australia (New Holland) for the first time.

Isaac Manley, servant to Ship’s Master Robert Molineux

Readers are drawn into the excitement of Cook’s journey by this well-researched account from the perspective of Isaac Manley. Through the opportunities provided by Isaac’s youthful inexperience and inquisitiveness, Hill is able to educate while entertaining with stories about life on board the ship and the experiences of the crew.

Isaac Manley achieved the rank of Vice Admiral in the Royal British Navy before his death in 1837. He was the last surviving member of the Endeavour’s crew.

Cook’s First Journey Around the Globe

Hill offers a broader perspective on Cook’s three year journey than the familiar tales of the landing at Botany Bay, which are described only briefly. Far more significance is accorded to the experiences of the crew during the journey through the southern oceans, including several months spent in Tahiti while Cook and his senior crew prepared to map the Transit of Venus in the southern skies.

Attention is also accorded to Cook’s navigation of the perilous coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef along the north eastern coast of Australia. The skill of Cook and his crew are evident in the distance they travelled before becoming caught on Endeavour Reef. The illnesses and difficulties encountered on their homeward journey provide further evidence of the enormous challenges of undertaking such a trip.

The rich heritage of language originating from nautical life and adventures is scattered throughout the novel. Explanations of the names of various landmarks in Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and other Pacific Islands and glimpses of the origins of familiar phrases adds to the enjoyment of the novel.

Diagrams, maps, portraits, drawings and landscapes, including images of the original works by Sydney Parkinson from the Endeavour crew, are scattered through the text, illustrating references and emphasising the factual origins of the story.

References are made to many aspects of a sailors life, including punishment with the cat o’ nine tails, illnesses and aggressive or promiscuous behaviour by both the sailors and natives. This is handled directly but with subtlety in an age appropriate manner for the intended audience.

A Journey of Discovery

While Cook’s obvious skills as a captain and cartographer are evident in the journals and maps from the Endeavour, Captain Cook’s Apprentice also draws attention to the less positive aspects of the European explorer’s experiences.

Through the narrative, Hill highlights that the native inhabitants of the islands visited, including the Polynesians of Tahiti and surrounding islands, Maori of New Zealand and Aboriginals of Australia, were regarded as little more than interesting scientific discoveries. Their rights and customs were largely disregarded and they were afforded no claim to the lands that they inhabited.

Through Isaac Manley, Anthony Hill observes the many errors of judgement and arrogant assumptions of Europeans as they journeyed into southern waters. Hill not only entertains readers and educates them on the historical and scientific significance of Cook’s journey, but he also offers reminders of the damage done by the arrogant belief of the Europeans that their own ways and beliefs were superior to the natives of these islands.

Captain Cook’s Apprentice

Anthony Hill, best selling Australian author of Soldier Boy (Penguin, 2002) and Young Digger (Penguin 2001) offers readers aged 10+ access to the characters and real-life events behind familiar figures and stories from their school history lessons. Useful book and internet references for further reading are also provided.

Based on Cook’s own records as well as the journals and records of other members of the crew such as Joseph Banks and Sydney Parkinson, Captain Cook’s Apprentice is not only entertaining historical fiction but also a compelling adventure story and a reminder that there is more to the story of the mapping of Australia’s east coast than scientific discovery and a spirit of adventure.

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