Captain Cook - the story

[MarieC]

You might be right, too, since Film Australia seems to have been a principal player in the production!  The presenter is English, and it is based on a book she wrote.  I do hope it IS screened in England  - it is so good!

MarieC

[PrueM]

I agree with you Marie, the first episode was excellent, looking forward to the next one.
Makes you realise what an amazing man he was.
Who nowadays would walk 2 miles to the Admiralty for a meeting??

wini

Not 2 miles, wini - 2 HOURS!     About 5 miles as the crow flies, I think.

[linden]

I would like to recommend a really good book by Tony Horwitz

It's called :

Into the Blue

or

Blue Latitudes

This man has researched Cook for most of his life and the book is full of detail and of humour .

One of my best reads last year

Linden

[GalaxyJane]

There was a series called The Ship on BBC Prime last year, which was a documentary of the voyage of a replica of Cook's ship.
   The story of the present day crew's efforts to sail an 18th century vessel was intercut with scenes from Cook's voyage
    I didn't realise that Captain Bligh of Mutiny of the Bounty fame was there when Cook was killed by islanders.
   Another Bounty connection-
 Cook's botanist on board the Endeavor was Joseph Banks, who, as Sir Joseph Banks of Kew  commissioned the Bounty voyage to take breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies

[MarieC]

Thanks for book recommendation, linden!  I will keep my eyes peeled for it.

I think that Elizabeth Cook was a remarkable woman.  She hardly saw her husband, she raised and buried six children, and she lived on for 54 years after Cook was killed.  Just before she died, she burned all his letters to her so we will never know what they contained.  The story of women has been neglected, and needs to be told!

MarieC

[Ruskie]

I saw a couple of programmes in this series. 

Marie's comments about Cook are similar to what I was thinking - he left his poor wife and children to go adventuring. I thought he seemed quite selfish and neglectful.

Of course this series depicted his commendable qualities as well 

Although extremely knowledgable, I found the presenter slightly irritating .... probably just me ...

Generally a very good series though.

[MarieC]

Yes, Ruskie, I agree it was an excellent series.  The last episode brought out the "darker side" of Cook.  I didn't have a problem with the presenter - thought she was very good.

I tended to think as you did about Cook, and then I thought - don't judge him through the lens of our era!  Men did things like that all the time in the eighteenth century - leaving their wives and families to fight in wars or go adventuring in other ways.  It was kind of accepted, back then.  I still feel sympathy for Elizabeth!  Since the letters are gone, we cannot get a glimpse of Cook's feelings for his wife - unfortunately!

Marie

[Ruskie]

Of course you are right Marie - they were different times.

and we can only magine what those letters contained ...