The Far Land

The Far Land swells in the cause and effect of actions of passion. Brandon Pressers fascinating narrative of the relentless consequences of the Bounty mutineers asks: were they brave or damned? They lived so very troubled ever after. You cant make this stuff up!TOM HANKS

The Far Land hits a lot of my pleasure centers: remote islands, then-and-now non-fiction, historical mysteries and forthright travelogues. The first night I started reading, I dreamed about Pitcairn Island. MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD, 2021 Booker Prize shortlisted and 2022 Womens Prize for Fiction shortlisted author of Great Circle

A THRILLING TALE OF POWER, OBSESSION AND BETRAYAL AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

In 1808, an American merchant ship happened upon an uncharted island in the South Pacific and unwittingly solved the biggest nautical mystery of the era: the whereabouts of a band of fugitives who, after seizing their vessel, had disappeared into the night with their Tahitian companions.

Seven generations later, the island is still inhabited by descendants of the original mutineers, marooned like modern castaways.

In 2018, Brandon Presser went to live among its families; two clans bound by circumstance and secrets. There, he pieced together Pitcairns full story: an operatic saga that holds all visitors in its mortal clutch - even the author.

Told through vivid historical and personal narrative, The Far Land goes beyond the infamous mutiny on the Bounty, offering an unprecedented glimpse at life on the fringes of civilization, and how, perhaps, its not so different from our own.