Rebel Down Under: When The 'shenandoah' Shook Melbourne, 1865
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
Markings: Fair - Rubbed edges and bumping on spine and corners
In the summer of 1865, the Confederate commerce raider CSS *Shenandoah* sailed boldly into the port of Melbourne, igniting a diplomatic firestorm that would pit colonial loyalties against imperial obligations and send shockwaves through Victorian society. Rebel Down Under chronicles this remarkable and largely forgotten episode in Australian history, reconstructing the audacious visit of a Confederate warship to British colonial shores at the dying embers of the American Civil War, and the scandal, espionage, and international controversy that followed in its wake. Cyril Pearl, one of Australia's most gifted popular historians, brings his characteristic wit and meticulous research to bear on a story that sits at the crossroads of maritime adventure, Cold War-era diplomacy, and colonial intrigue. With a keen eye for colourful personalities and dramatic incident, Pearl illustrates how a single ship's visit forced Melbourne's citizens — and their British colonial masters — to confront uncomfortable questions about neutrality, sovereignty, and sympathy. The result is a gripping narrative that reveals just how close the reverberations of the American Civil War came to reshaping the political landscape of the Antipodes — and leaves the reader wondering what other forgotten dramas lie buried in the colonial past.
Author: Cyril Pearl
Format: Hardback
Published: 1970, Heinemann Melbourne
Genre: Australian history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
Markings: Fair - Rubbed edges and bumping on spine and corners
In the summer of 1865, the Confederate commerce raider CSS *Shenandoah* sailed boldly into the port of Melbourne, igniting a diplomatic firestorm that would pit colonial loyalties against imperial obligations and send shockwaves through Victorian society. Rebel Down Under chronicles this remarkable and largely forgotten episode in Australian history, reconstructing the audacious visit of a Confederate warship to British colonial shores at the dying embers of the American Civil War, and the scandal, espionage, and international controversy that followed in its wake. Cyril Pearl, one of Australia's most gifted popular historians, brings his characteristic wit and meticulous research to bear on a story that sits at the crossroads of maritime adventure, Cold War-era diplomacy, and colonial intrigue. With a keen eye for colourful personalities and dramatic incident, Pearl illustrates how a single ship's visit forced Melbourne's citizens — and their British colonial masters — to confront uncomfortable questions about neutrality, sovereignty, and sympathy. The result is a gripping narrative that reveals just how close the reverberations of the American Civil War came to reshaping the political landscape of the Antipodes — and leaves the reader wondering what other forgotten dramas lie buried in the colonial past.