Francois Raynal’s account of his months as a castaway on the Auckland Islands was a best-seller in 1875. It’s been proposed that Jules Verne used it as the inspiration for his novel Two Years’ Vacation, about a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific. When it came to overcoming adversity, Raynal’s story had it all, and his passion shines forth regularly as he honours his fellow crewmates, describes their hunger and their hopes, and their final desperate bid for safety to New Zealand.

The story from 1864 captured the country's attention when Musgrave and two of his crewmen arrived in Invercargill on their makeshift boat after a five day journey from the Auckland Islands.

This reprint of a New Zealand historical classic is published as a paperback of 280 pages. A5 size format, profusely illustrated.

See the companion volume, Castaway on the Auckland Isles, by Thomas Musgrave, also from Lakeview Publishing.

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