Captain's dinner A shipwreck, an act of cannibalism, and a murder trial that changed legal history

It happened in 1884. A yacht sank, but the four-man crew made it to a lifeboat. They spent nearly three weeks adrift at sea. Finally, the captain, Thomas Dudley, made a decision: they would kill and eat the youngest member of the crew. Dudley and his remaining crewmates made it home safely, but soon they wished they hadn't as they were plunged into a murder trial that rocked the world and set legal precedent that still stands today: necessity is not an acceptable justification for murder. Cohen (Supreme Inequality, 2020) realizes that there are two stories here: the story of the sinking ship and the crew's fight for survival, and the murder trial that followed. We need to know the first story--who Thomas Dudley was, and what he and his crewmates went through--to fully appreciate the second. We also need the historical context to understand just how important this trial was: this was not the first act of cannibalism in the name of survival, but it was the first that changed the world. For students of legal history, this one's a must-read.

Drama abounds on the high seas and in the courtroom in journalist Cohen's rollicking dissection of "one of the most famous cases in Western law" (after Supreme Inequality). In July 1884, three British seaman and a cabin boy were sailing their employer's yacht to Australia when a gigantic wave sank the ship. For the next 20 days, they survived in a lifeboat with sides thick as "a cigar box," no potable water, and two tins of canned turnips. Mad with thirst, the cabin boy eventually caved and drank sea water--a potentially lethal decision. Finally, the captain, Thomas Dudley, proposed following the "custom of the sea": drawing lots to decide who should be killed and eaten. But instead of lots, Dudley and another sailor ultimately decided to kill and eat the cabin boy, who seemed to be dying. Rescue came four days later, and the survivors were up front about what had transpired--society had long had a "placid acceptance" of cannibalism at sea under extreme circumstances, so the seamen were shocked to be sent to jail. Britain, Cohen explains, was modernizing; the "Victorian impulse for improvement" was being extended even to the lawless ocean. Cohen delves into the sensational trial, elegantly teasing out the significance of each lawyerly chess move. The result is a gripping look at a foundational moral shift of the modern era. (Nov.)

In September 1884, a German ship rescued the three survivors of the wrecked yacht Mignonette. One was the experienced captain, Thomas Dudley, who had been hired to sail the yacht from Great Britain to Australia. Dudley and fellow survivors Edwin Stephens and Edward Brooks relayed to their rescuers a horrific tale of survival in a tiny wooden lifeboat after the yacht wreck, adrift for weeks in the harsh South Atlantic Ocean with little food and water. Lawyer and journalist Cohen (Supreme Inequality) delves into the decision of Captain Dudley to murder a fourth survivor, Richard Parker, a cabin boy, to cannibalize his remains. When this murder case went to trial, the court questioned the legality of cannibalism, which was "the custom of the sea" in shipwrecks. Ultimately, two of the sailors were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in a case that set a legal precedent taught in law schools for over a century. (Their sentences were later reduced to six months' imprisonment, reflecting overwhelming public support for men in difficult circumstances and Victorian opposition to the death penalty.) VERDICT Based on extensive primary research, this engaging legal and maritime history is highly recommended for all libraries.--Chad E. Statler

Shipwreck accounts are an established genre, but this is well off the usual track. Journalist and author Cohen, author ofImbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck, strikes gold with a story from Victorian Britain that comes with a scholar's favorite documentation: court transcripts. In 1883 a wealthy Australian bought a used yacht in Britain and hired a crew to deliver it: an experienced captain, two crewmen, and a cabin boy. After six weeks sailing south in the Atlantic, a storm sank it. With only minutes to save themselves, the crew fled to its dinghy with time to grab two cans of turnips and a few instruments but no water. After nearly three weeks, with all nearly moribund from thirst and starvation, the captain cut the boy's throat, and all consumed his blood and organs "with quite as much relish as ordinary food." Four days later, a ship appeared. The survivors did not conceal their actions, and their rescuers were not scandalized because all knew similar stories. Cohen describes half a dozen documented occasions and summarizes the history of human cannibalism before moving on to what followed after the men landed in England. Newspapers covered the story mostly favorably. No sailor in history had been prosecuted for cannibalism, so the men were shocked to be arrested and charged with murder. The decision came from the government where senior officials rejected the ancient tradition that allowed sailors in danger of starving to eat someone. More than half the book recounts the trials, which concluded for the first time in history that the men had committed homicide. Almost no one wanted them hanged, so they served six months in prison. Readers will likely agree with current legal opinion that denies that murder is justified when it can be presented as the lesser of two evils. A legal milestone and a good read. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.