Mr Bligh's Bad Language

By Greg Dening,

Book cover of Mr Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty

Book description

Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty have become proverbial in their capacity to evoke the extravagant and violent abuse of power. But William Bligh was one of the least violent disciplinarians in the British navy. It is this paradox which inspired Greg Dening to ask why the mutiny…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Mr Bligh's Bad Language as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is an unusual take on perhaps the best-known mutiny of them all: the mutiny on HMS Bounty. While most books on the topic focus on the conditions around the mutiny or the state of the relationship between Captain Bligh and the mutineers, especially Fletcher Christian, Denning takes the view of a cultural anthropologist and explores the language and theatrical performances of those involved and situates these against the historical context and the way that context – and therefore the accounts of the mutiny – shifted across time.

Want books like Mr Bligh's Bad Language?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 15 books like Mr Bligh's Bad Language.

Browse books like Mr Bligh's Bad Language

Book cover of Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny
Book cover of Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857
Book cover of Naval Mutinies of the Twentieth Century: An International Perspective

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,176

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Pacific Ocean, the British Royal Navy, and survival?

Survival 203 books