The Letters of Fletcher Christian

This fascinating book was first published in 1796 under the title: Letters from Mr Fletcher Christian Containing a Narrative of the Transactions on Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty Before and After the Mutiny, With His Subsequent Voyages and Travels in America.

Who was the author of this exceedingly rare and curious volume? Could it have been Fletcher Christian himself? Might James Morrison, boatswain's mate on the Bounty or William Wordsworth, poet and boyhood acquaintance of Christian, have been involved with the book's publication? Could Fletcher have escaped death on Pitcairn and travelled to South America? Certainly the Bounty's chronometer was found by an old muleteer in Concepcion, Chile. Or might the infamous mutineer have returned in secret to England? His fellow shipmate, Peter Heywood was convinced he spotted him in a Plymouth side street in 1808.

All these and other possibilities are discussed, and a summary of Christian's life is recorded, in Stephen Walter's comprehensive Introduction to the Genesis fine limited edition: The Letters of Fletcher Christian.

Copies of the 1796 edition are extremely rare and fetch sums in excess of £1,000.00 auction.

This new edition contains:

• The printed letters in facsimile.
• Comprehensive Introduction by Stephen Walters, Bounty historian.
• Portraits of Fletcher Christian's parents in full colour. These have only recently come to light and have never been published before.
• A full colour frontispiece by the celebrated water-colour artist Keith West. Each frontispiece is numbered and signed by the artist.
• Nine black and white illustrations by Roy Williams.

This fine limited edition has been carefully printed in two colours throughout. The text is in black, and each page is framed with a colour border. It is limited to 350 numbered copies, hand bound in half leather with gilt tooling and page edges.

Trimmed page size: 240mm x 170mm
Number of pages: 208

ISBN: 0 904351 29 7
Price: £275/$465