At Christmas 1856, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and several other minor contributors published in Dickens’ publication, Household Words, a Christmas installment which included The Wreck of the Golden Mary. As the title suggests, this is the story of a shipwreck and the aftermath as the survivors drift on the sea.

Using a form that is very Dickensian in nature, the Wreck employs the story within a story device. It felt a bit jarring to me to have the main story interrupted while the first mate recounts stories the members of the crew told one another while afloat. These stories were written by others, and several of them lack the finesse and depth that one always finds in Dickens himself. At least one of them had a distinct quality that easily identified it as the work of either Dickens or Collins, and I found it to be the most enjoyable of the set.

The main story is terrific, and without the interruption, a full 5-star story. The character development is surprisingly effective. I had a real attachment to both Captain Ravender and the first mate, John Steadiman. Steadiman’s name alone will tell you a lot about his character. I was made to think of Moby Dick, which was written only a few years before this tale and with which this one shares a kind of genuine seafaring atmosphere.

Dickens’ knowledge of ships and seafaring are quite impressive and the story has the same flow and captivating detail as his novels. I have found Dickens is as skillful with short fiction as he is with tomes, but then his novels were all written in serial form, so he is accustomed to producing even his long fiction in short form.

Excellent story, worth the reading. ( )