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The Sea Lions

by James Fenimore Cooper

First published 1849

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3.4(53)

In 1819, Roswell Gardiner takes command of a sealing voyage from Long Island after information about remote hunting grounds promises exceptional profit. A rival vessel follows the same trail, and competition carries both crews south into polar waters where ice, weather and distance quickly make commercial advantage less important than survival.

The expedition becomes a severe test of leadership and belief as the crews face isolation and the possibility of being trapped through the winter. Cooper combines detailed maritime labour with a religious and emotional plot centred on Roswell’s attachment to Mary Pratt, using the extremity of the southern ocean to force questions about pride, dependence and the limits of human control.

Historical Periods

History of the Americasc. 15,000 BCE–present

Genres

Exploration & Survival Fiction Maritime Fiction Social & Domestic Fiction

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