Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder

"part history, part murder mystery, part sea-going adventure—entirely captivating."

Matthew Pearl has scoured ships' logs and newspaper accounts hidden in archives to dramatic effect in this book about a sea-going family. The Walkers, a father, mother, and three teenage sons, are the emotional core of this story about the risks and potential rewards of the sea-faring life in the late 19th century. Frederick Walker was the rare ship's captain who took his family with him on his many voyages. The boys grew up with a spirit of adventure and the experience of living in a variety of places, from Hong Kong to Hawaii. They were very much at home on the rocking waves until bad weather left them all shipwrecked on Midway Atoll.

Save Our Souls is the story of the dangers they faced, from the ocean, from crew members, from possible rescuers, and ultimately from despair and illness. Pearl carefully provides historical context to all the aspects of their story, from fishing to opium smuggling to Hawaii's political struggles with the United States. One example is how he describes Elizabeth, Frederick's wife, and her place in the story:

"Elizabeth's role on ships required an adventurous spirit and a willingness to challenge stereotypes The shipping press noted with surprise that wives on board fishing vessels appeared to increase productivity in the crew, though observers were conflicted about the reason, surmising that women must have had 'good influence' on discipline and morale. Being the one woman aboard was never easy, though, requiring composure and leadership amid the rowdy, overworked, and sometimes disgruntled men who made up the crews."

Elizabeth turns out to be central to everyone's survival once family and crew find themselves on Midway, basically a couple of sandbars. As if the drama of a shipwreck weren't enough, the survivors are shocked to find that a castaway already lives on the small atoll. Hans seems friendly enough at first, but as seasons pass and food gets scarcer, that changes. Hans and the first mate, John, form a team united against the Walkers. As Hans and John decide to camp out on Green Island, the emotional, social complications of their isolation almost weigh more heavily than the physical ones.

"The two islands now represented two different types of settlements or, in a grander version of the situation, civilizations. The Walkers and the fourteen castaways on Sand Island cooperated and coordinated with each other to provide and allocate enough resources to sustain themselves. The alternative settlement on Green Island found two leaders who used threats of force and violence to strengthen their positions, taking advantage of the challenges in mental health and language, respectively in George and Mouwen in order to exert control over them."

The struggles with Hans and John give the plot the aspect of a thriller with their menacing threats looming over the second part of the book. Interwoven with it all is information about fishing for sharks, kidnapping labor for plantations, insurance claims for wrecked ships. Somehow, Pearl keeps all his threads clear without losing sight of the main adventure. He describes the several near-misses, almost-rescues of the Walkers as ships pass by, though not quite close enough. And he describes the castaways' daily experience in colorful detail. He does this by quoting generously from newspapers and from contemporary books about similar issues. His biggest resource is Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, who learns about the Walkers' exciting tale and uses it as the basis for a book, The Wrecker.

Stevenson tracked down the Walkers and members of their crew, eager for information to use in his book. "Some sources—though not directly from Stevenson or the Walkers, and not verifiable—suggest Stevenson accepted an offer to read the diary Elizabeth Walker kept on Sand Island, and that he judged it 'one of the most thrilling stories ever written.'"

Stevenson saw clearly the dramatic possibilities: "a shipwrecked family . . . on an island with a murderer: there is a specimen."

Elizabeth's diary was surely thrilling, as is Pearl's retelling of her story. Save Our Souls is part history, part murder mystery, part sea-going adventure—entirely captivating.