The Mutiny on the Bounty
Bibliography No. 12, July 2004
The Naval Mutiny on HMAV (His Majesty’s Armed
Vessel) Bounty which took place in the South Seas in
1789 has been the subject of numerous books and
articles and in more recent years several Hollywood
films. The Isle of Man has strong links with this
famous episode in naval history. This bibliography
attempts to provide an aid in accessing some of the
material available in the MNH collections, much of
which will be obtainable from other libraries world
wide.
Glynn Christian in his book Fragile Paradise states
that the bibliography of the Bounty/Pitcairn story
exceeds 2500 items! Therefore this guide is only
intended to provide a starting point for access to the
vast amount of material available to the researcher.
Please note that other material is accessible through
our catalogues and a summary list of the books,
articles and pamphlets we hold in our collections is
available in the reading room or by e-mail as an
attachment.
For a more comprehensive list refer to those titles
which have included detailed bibliographies. A
selection of these are listed at the end of this resource
sheet since they provide a convenient way for
researchers to locate material and then request it
through the inter library loan system.
Just outside Douglas is the village of
Onchan, where on February 4 1781 at
the parish church, William Bligh,
later commander of the Bounty,
married Elizabeth Betham,
whose family lived at
Bemahague, Onchan. Bligh
was from Plymouth, where
his father was a customs
officer. Whilst serving as a
midshipman on HMS Ranger
in the 1770s William was a
frequent visitor to Douglas,
where he met customs officer
Richard Betham and his family.
After this posting Bligh
subsequently sailed with Captain
Cook to the Pacific and was
promoted to Lieutenant, returning to
England in 1780. After their
marriage the Blighs lived in Douglas where
their daughter Mary was christened at
St Matthew’s Church on July 7
1784. The family subsequently
moved to Lambeth in London.
Peter Heywood of Douglas
(Midshipman on the Bounty)
was the son of a former
Deemster (Judge) who was
Steward to the Duke of
Atholl. Born in the early
1770s Heywood joined the
navy in 1786. In a small
community his family would
have known the Bethams and
this helped persuade Bligh to
select him as one of his officers for
the voyage.
![Onchan Church [library Ref E205/5(1)]](/lib/images/mnh/biblios/onchanchurch.jpg "Onchan Church [from An Appeal on behalf of the Poor Churches]")
Heywood’s subsequent
arrest, trial and sentence to death and the
efforts of his sister Nessy and
family to have him pardoned
are recorded in some detail in
family correspondence and subsequent publications.
The leader of the mutineers was Fletcher Christian.
Although from Cumberland, which is just across the
sea from the Isle of Man, he was related to the
Christian family of Milntown near Ramsey and
maintained links with the Island. Christian had sailed
with Bligh before.
The Mutiny
Barrow, Sir John
The eventful history of the mutiny and piratical
seizure of HMS Bounty: its causes and
consequences
London: John Murray, 1831
A full account of the events surrounding the mutiny.
The author was Secretary of the Admiralty.
Library Ref.G88/1/18
Barrow, Sir John
The Mutiny on the Bounty
Boston: David R Godine, 1980
0 89723 343 5
A modern edition of the above title edited by and with
an introduction by Gavin Kennedy which refers to
sources which have been found since the original
publication and work on them by scholars.
Library Ref G88/1/127
Bligh, William
A narrative of the mutiny on board HMS Bounty:
and the subsequent voyage of part of the crew in the
ship's boat...
London: Printed for George Nicol, 1790
Bligh's account of events.
Library Ref.G88/1/3x
Bligh, William
A voyage to the South Sea in HMS the Bounty
London: Printed for George Nicol, 1792
Expanded and amended account of events.
Library Ref.G88/1/4x
Bligh, William
Bligh and the Bounty: his own unabridged narrative
edited and illustrated by Laurence Irving
London: Methuen, 1936
A reprint of Bligh's voyage to the South Sea in 1792
Library Ref.G88/1/59
Mackaness, George (editor)
A Book of the Bounty
London: J.Dent, 1938
This volume combines the following works: 1. Bligh's
A Voyage to the South Sea; 2. A Narrative of the
Mutiny on board HMS Bounty; 3. Barney's Report of
the Court Martial of ten of the Mutineers with an
appendix by Edward Christian; 4. Bligh's answer to
Edward Christian's assertions; 5. A selection of Bligh's
correspondence.
Library Ref G88/1/68
Rutter, Owen
The Court-Martial of the 'Bounty' Mutineers
Edinburgh: William Hodge & Company, 1931
A reprint of the Court-Martial proceedings with an
introduction by Owen Rutter.
Library Ref.G88/1/50
Interpretation of events
Alexander, Caroline
The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the
Bounty.
London: Harper Collins, 2003.
ISBN 0 00 257221 4
A reinterpretation of events using a wide range of
material.
Library Ref: G.88/1/164
Belcher, Diana, Lady
The mutineers of the Bounty and their
descendents in Pitcairn Islands and Norfolk
Islands...
London, John Murray, 1870
Includes extracts from James Morrison’s Journal.
Library Ref: G.88/1/38
Dening, Greg
Mr Bligh's Bad Language: Passion Power and
Theatre on the Bounty
Cambridge University Press, 1992
0 521 38370 6
An attempt to interpret the mutiny in the context of its
historical and cultural representations.
Library Ref G.88/1/123
Danielsson, Bengt
What happened on the Bounty
London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962
A reconstruction of what happened on the Bounty, the
adventures of the survivors and the subsequent
Court-Martial.
Library Ref.G88/1/77
Du Rietz, Rolf
Studia Bountyana 1: the causes of the Bounty
mutiny, some comments on a book by Madge Darby
Uppsala, 1965
This author has written numerous articles about the
Bounty and this is a critique which provides a
discussion of the various ways the events have been
interpreted.
Library Ref.G88/1/89/1
Hough, Richard
Captain Bligh & Mr Christian: The Men and the
Mutiny
London: Hutchinson, 1972
0 09 112860 9
A study of the leading characters in the mutiny.
Library Ref G88/1/124
Kennedy, Gavin
Captain Bligh the man and his mutinies
London: Duckworth, 1989
ISBN 0 7156 2231 5
Developed from his biography of Bligh. Issued in the
bicentenary year of the mutiny.
Library Ref G88/1/116
McFarland, Alfred
Mutiny in the Bounty!: and story of the Pitcairn
Islanders
Sydney: J. J. Moore, 1884
A compilation from the various books about the
Bounty aimed at the Australian reader.
Library Ref.G88/1/31
Shapiro, H.L.
Heritage of the Bounty: The story of Pitcairn through
six generations
London: Victor Gollancz, 1936
The author, formerly Curator of the American Museum
of Natural History, wrote a number of articles on
matters related to the Bounty.
Library Ref G88/1/61
Wahlroos, Sven
Mutiny and Romance in the South Seas: A
Companion to the Bounty Adventure
Topsfield: Salem House, 1989
Part 1 is a chronicle of events, Part 2 a Bounty Encyclopedia with a 27 page sample
of literature (bibliography)
Library Ref G88/1/120
HMS Pandora
Gesner, Peter
HMS Pandora Project: A report of five
seasons of excavation
Brisbane: Memoirs of the Queensland Museum Cultural Heritage Series Vol.
2, part 1, 2000
ISSN 1440 4788
Library Ref G88/1/147b
Gesner, Peter
Pandora: An Archaeological
Perspective
Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1991
0 7242 4482 4
Library Ref G88/1/147
Hamilton, George
A Voyage Round the World in His
Majesty's Frigate Pandora
Hordern House for Australian National
Maritime Museum, 1998
Facsimile reprint with an essay by
Peter Gesner, Curator of Maritime
Archaeology, who was involved in the
Pandora excavation.
Library Ref G88/1/149
Thomson, Basil, (editor)
The voyage of HMS Pandora:despatched to arrest the mutineers of
the 'Bounty' in the South Seas, 1790-91
London: Francis Edwards, 1915
This tells the story of the treatment of
the mutineers on the voyage back to
England to be put on trial.
Library Ref.G88/1/41
Pitcairn Island
Murray, Thomas Boyles
Pitcairn the Island, the People and the Pastor
London: SPCK, 1853
This volume was frequently reprinted with the last
edition published in 1909.
It includes details of the mutiny.
Library Ref G88/1/36 (1909 ed)
Young, Rosalind Amelia
Mutiny on the Bounty and Story of Pitcairn Island
1790-1894
Wellington: Pastor David Nield, 1924
Written by a descendant of the mutineers who was
born and lived on Pitcairn.
Library Ref G88/1/43
The Personalities
William Bligh
Kennedy, Gavin
Bligh
London: Duckworth, 1978
A biography using recently
discovered sources.
Library Ref.G88/1/105
Mackaness, George
The Life of Vice-Admiral William
Bligh
Sydney: Angus and Robertson,
1931
2 volume comprehensive account.
Library Ref G88/1/48-9
Montgomerie, H. S.
William Bligh of the 'Bounty': in fact and in fable
London: Williams & Norgate, 1937
A biography.
Library Ref.G88/1/65
Rawson, Geoffrey
Bligh Of the Bounty
London: Philip Allan, 1930
With sixty pages on the Mutiny.
Library Ref.G88/1/47
Rutter, Owen
Turbulent journey
London: Ivor Nicholson and
Watson, 1936
Library Ref.G88/1/60
Fletcher Christian
Beach, Susan Hicks
The yesterdays behind the door:
a family biography
Liverpool: Liverpool University
Press, 1956
This volume deals with the Christian family history
and includes details about Fletcher Christian.
Library Ref G90/CHR
Christian, Glynn
Fragile Paradise: the discovery of Fletcher Christian
Bounty mutineer
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1982 ISBN 0 241 10757 1
An interesting interpretation of the events leading up
to and subsequent to the mutiny by a descendant of
Fletcher Christian. It also includes the Christian family
tree.
Library Ref.G88/1/103
Peter Heywood
Moore, A. W., SHK
Nessy Heywood
Douglas: Brown & Sons, 1913
Nessy was actively involved in securing her brother's
pardon from his conviction for his involvement in the
mutiny. This book contains all the published letters of
Nessy and Peter Heywood
Library Ref.G88/1/39
Tagart, Edward
A memoir of Captain Peter Heywood, R.N. with
extracts from his diaries and correspondence.
London: Effingham Wilson, 1832
Extensive coverage of his naval career, the Bounty
voyage and subsequent court martial.
Library Ref. G88/1/19
Bibliographies
The following have useful bibliographies. The
more recent examples provide a vivid indication
of the amount of material available to researchers.
Alexander, Caroline
The Bounty
pp 441-448 sources.
pp 449-467 select Bibliography
Dening, Greg
Mr Bligh's Bad Language
pp 397-427 over 620 references.
Kennedy, Gavin
Bligh
pp 400-412 a detailed list of 328 items.
Kennedy, Gavin
Captain Bligh: the man and his mutinies
Updated and condensed list pp 307-310
Lucas, Charles, Sir
The Pitcairn Island register book
London: SPCK, 1929
pp 165-178 has 82 references divided by theme.
(Library Ref. G88/1/45)
Rutter, Owen
The Court-Martial of the 'Bounty' Mutineers
pp 200-202 23 references
Wahlroos, Sven
Mutiny and Romance in the South Seas:
A Companion to the Bounty Adventure
pp 439-466
Manuscript Resources
Heywood Family Letters
The letters and papers of Peter and Hester (Nessy)
Heywood.
A detailed handlist is available in the search room.
Archive Ref 09519
Web Sites
There is a wealth of information about the Bounty
available on the Internet. Try running searches using
terms such as Bounty Mutiny, Pitcairn Island, William
Bligh to get up to date references.
At the time of writing this guide a useful site was
http://lareau.org/bounty.html
This had numerous links and an online bibliography
by H.L.Kerr which included books, manuscripts,
articles and portraits relating to the mutiny.
The Manx National Heritage Library holds a wealth of various and extensive source material.
Staff at the library and throughout Manx National Heritage, are always pleased to hear from anyone with an interest in Manx history.
MNH Library is a reference only facility and does not lend items through the Inter Library Loan system. However, photocopies of some material, subject to copyright and the need to preserve originals may be available on receipt of the appropriate copying fee.
Some material may also be available through Inter Library Loans from other libraries and research centres.
The following links are useful for researchers:
British Library Newspaper Library -
British Library on-line public catalogue -
Library of Congress -
AGF/KG 07.04
You will need Adobe Acrobat to download documents that are PDFs, this is available free by following this link:
