Abstract
In Lost at Sea in Mysterious Circumstances, Richard M. Jones gives us an anthology of stories about ‘mysteries’ that have occurred at sea, largely involving missing vessels (ranging from seventeenth-century merchant ships to Second World War-era submarines), missing people who were claimed by the sea under unusual circumstances, and missing aircraft that met a watery demise, amongst others. Jones divides his anthology into distinct categories – namely, ‘The Missing’ (seemingly miscellaneous stories), ‘Warships’, ‘Submarines’, ‘Merchant Ships’, ‘Passenger Ships’ and ‘Aircraft’. Each story follows a similar structure, with an overview of the historical context, the retelling of the peculiar circumstances of the event that he is describing, and occasionally an exploration of the common explanations for the event that, while sensible, have yet to be proved in the absence of any material evidence. Although Jones does in many cases offer an explanation of what might have happened, it is important to note that these explanations are not Jones’ own theories but rather are based on historical and scientific research that has been carried out separately, which Jones considers to give us the most likely explanation for the events that he describes. When dealing with unexplained events and mysterious circumstances, it has often proved irresistible for writers in the past to err into conspiracy or create supernatural ties to the events that have transpired. Jones steadfastly avoids this, opting instead for an objective historical approach that is both welcome and surprisingly rare for a book recounting the ‘mysterious circumstances’ of maritime vanishings.
As the narrator, Jones plays the role of the objective historian, conveying a combination of well-documented and lesser-known accounts of vanishings at sea in a clear, concise and engaging manner. An overarching criticism that I have of the work, however, is that the content does not always live up to the title, and one wonders whether certain elements of the book should have been omitted and published as a separate work. The full title of this book – Lost at Sea in Mysterious Circumstances: Vanishings and Undiscovered Shipwrecks – indicates that within these pages are accounts of vessels, people and/or things that have vanished at sea, and that the circumstances surrounding these vanishings have yet to be definitively explained. By my definition, if a phenomenon has a clear explanation, it cannot be termed a ‘mystery’. For a handful of the stories in Jones’ anthology, the ‘missing’ element is really only a tangential part of the story, particularly when it comes to undiscovered shipwrecks that were sunk in wartime (the circumstances surrounding the ships’ disappearance not being that surprising), shipping containers that fell overboard, and missing people who were known to have fallen overboard but whose bodies were never found (such as Admiral Wilcox of the United States Navy). The truly ‘mysterious’ stories in this anthology number only a handful, with the rest largely falling under the labels of ‘peculiar’, ‘unfortunate’ or ‘tragic’. Understanding that an author is well within their rights to add a touch of literary embellishment, and knowing the importance of commercial appeal, one can appreciate that the title might not fully reflect the contents of the book. It does, however, leave one with a sense that this is a miscellaneous collection of stories that loosely fall under the category of ‘the mysterious’ (or, at the very least, ‘the unusual’) that the author wished to tell. As Jones himself states: Having a ship sink and the wreck not being found is understandable. It can only be found if somebody looks for it and, even then, the oceans are so large that people have spent lifetimes searching for shipwrecks with no luck (p. 130).
Although Jones does organize the stories in Lost at Sea in Mysterious Circumstances by type, the work generally would have benefitted from more signposting in each section – for instance, the chapters on ‘Warships’ and ‘The Missing’ are notably lacking an introduction and overview – and perhaps a little more methodological explanation about how Jones pieced together these tales and his criteria for choosing which stories made the final cut.
The real strength of this work is Jones’ skill as a storyteller, as evidenced by my own frequent exclamations and ready absorption into the tales of amazingly tragic, bizarre and unthinkable events that Jones recounts. Indeed, the stories of the Californian, General Grant, Baychimo and Arctic have already been retold to friends and family with far less articulation on my part than Jones achieves in his telling. Jones has done a fantastic job of condensing a great deal of information and what is clearly many hours of research into neat, short and engaging stories. As an academic text its use is limited, owing to the lack of citations and methodological explanation. However, this work serves as a helpful anthology that can be used as a reference point for further academic research, depending on the motivation of the reader in picking up the book. Although one can find fault with some of the editorial decisions in respect of the structuring and content, the actual stories are astonishing, and I personally encountered many of the lesser-known tales for the first time. Once read, the stories are hard to forget, as they are infused with intrigue and tragedy that will ensure that they remain in your mind long after you have put the book down. Jones writes in his acknowledgments: ‘If I have brought any of these stories to light enough to keep it remembered then this book has served its purpose’ (p. 191). In this statement, the work will no doubt achieve its goal. This reader will certainly remember these stories, those who lost their lives and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the events that Jones describes for many years to come.