Could you be Captain of a whaling ship if all the crew around you died in a tragedy? Would you even want to? And what would you do if the cook on board has plans of his own and wants to kill you? This and much more is what poor fifteen year old Dick Sands has to deal with as the only surviving crew member. Everything seems to be going according to plan. That is until the cook sabotages the ship and rather than arriving in South America, the group ends up in Africa. The evil cook’s plan is to sell everyone on board into slavery. Will they survive all the obstacles and unexpected occurrences or will they fall victims to the African slave trade? 'Dick Sands, the Boy Captain' is an adventure novel which not only keeps you on the edge until the very end, but it also depicts the widespread condemnation of slavery. Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist who mostly wrote adventure fiction inspired by the scientific advances of the 19th century. With the help of editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel he wrote a series of books called 'Extraordinary Travels', which includes 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' (1864), 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' (1870) and 'Around the World in Eighty Days' (1873). There have been many film adaptations of Jules Verne’s books with the most notable being 'Journey to the Center of The Earth' (2008) starring Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games), 'Around the World in 80 Days' (1956) and 'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island' (2012) starring Dwayne Johnson. Widely popular with both children and adults, Verne is one of the most translated authors of all time, and still inspires people the world over.

Dick Sand is a fifteen-year-old boy serving on the schooner "Pilgrim" as a sailor. The crew are whale hunters that voyage every year down to New Zealand. After an unsuccessful season of hunting, as they plan to return the wife of the owner of the hunting firm, Mrs Weldon, her five-year-old son Jack Weldon and her cousin, Bénédict, an entomologist ask for a return passage to San Francisco. Several days into the journey they save five shipwrecked passengers from another ship and a dog who was with them at the time (Tom, Actéon, Austin, Bat, Nan, Hercule and Dingo (the dog)). Towards the end of their passage, they notice a whale and the crew, hoping for some profit after a bad season, decide to hunt it. Captain Hull reluctantly leaves Dick responsible for the ship. But the hunt goes awry and all the crew members are killed. Now Dick is left in charge of the ship with no experienced sailors to help him.....

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Dick Sands, a youth of fifteen, must assume command of a ship after the disappearance of its captain. Nature's forces combined with evil doings of men lead him and his companions to many dangerous adventures on sea and in Central Africa.

Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen is a Jules Verne novel published in 1878. It deals primarily with the issue of slavery, and the African slave trade by other Africans in particular. Several adaptations were made, two Soviet and one Franco-Spanish.

Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen is a Jules Verne novel published in 1878. It deals primarily with the issue of slavery, and the African slave trade by other Africans in particular. Several adaptations were made, two Soviet and one Franco-Spanish