Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck That Shocked Restoration Britain

Historian Pickford (Lady Bette and the Murder of Mr. Thynn) delivers a tantalizing account of the mysterious wreckage of the Gloucester as it brought the future King James II from Portsmouth, England, to Edinburgh in 1682. Drawing on multiple sources, including the account of diarist and naval administrator Samuel Pepys, who witnessed the sinking from a different vessel, Pickford debunks contemporaneous conspiracy theories that blamed “Puritan extremists” for the disaster. Instead, he highlights more likely culprits, including erroneous maps of the sandbank on which the ship wrecked. Throughout, Pickford paints colorful, multidimensional portraits of key figures involved and persuasively defends James II from allegations that his “cowardly selfishness” during the evacuation contributed to the deaths of 150 men. Perhaps most enlightening is Pickford’s analysis of how descriptions of the event changed to suit England’s fluid political climate. The press initially hailed James’s survival as an affirmation of the divine right of kings; when he fell out of favor, accusations of his selfish behavior emerged. Flashes of humor enrich the meticulous historical research, and Pickford makes a persuasive call for the wreck site—first located in 2007—to be excavated and “given a permanent home in an appropriate museum.” The result is a valuable overview of one of England’s great maritime mysteries. (Feb.)