Brian Freemantle resolves one of the greatest maritime mysteries of all time What happened to the Mary Celeste? A merchant vessel sailing out of New York with an Italy-bound shipment of commercial alcohol, the brigantine began her fateful journey in November 1872. One month later she was sighted on an apparent return course, her sails set but torn, her deck abandoned. The ship was in good condition, with her cargo intact. There was no sign of an attack, but the crew had vanished. What was to follow spawned the most famous maritime ghost story of all time: Convinced of murder and mystery, the British court investigator suppressed evidence to bolster his case. Rumors abounded of sea monster attack, Barbary Coast piracy, and the crew having been sucked from the vessel as it sailed over the site of the fabled Atlantis. Regardless, the mystery remained unsolved. Until now. In this thrilling retelling, Brian Freemantle depicts for the first time how the truth was turned into fantasy and legend, largely through the imagination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

In December 1872, a ship was discovered in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship's sails were raised and it was in a seaworthy condition. Yet it appeared to be bobbing quite strangely rather than sailing. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the crew of the ship was missing. There was no sign of a struggle and the cargo had not been ransacked. What became of the crew has remained one of the sea's greatest mysteries for over 100 years.

4 DECEMBER 1872: The brigantine Dei Gratia chances upon another brigantine out on the Atlantic near the Azores. She is the Mary Celeste. She is under sail. But she is deserted. Silent as a drowned cadaver. For 150 years since then, the mystery of why the Mary Celeste was abandoned, and what happened to the ten souls on board, has spawned thousands of conjectures, conspiracy theories, fictions and fantasies. Some have thought they solved the mystery. Some have just spun yarns. One, at least, has claimed it was all a hoax. The Mysterious Case of the Mary Celeste: 150 Years of Myth and Mystique unveils those stories – the ‘fake news’, ‘alternative facts’ and the myths fabricated from fractured truths. These are the real facts in search of a truth that remains unfathomable to this day.

Get closer to solving the mystery of the Mary Celeste with this riveting title. Learn about leading theories, important clues, and study the evidence to develop your on conclusions about the disappearance of this ship.

This book in the Urban Legends: Don't Read Alone! series explores the creepy history of the Mary Celeste legend. Are you brave enough to read it alone? Written with a high interest level to appeal to a more mature audience and a lower level of complexity with clear visuals to help struggling readers along. Considerate text includes tons of fascinating information and wild facts that will hold the readers' interest, allowing for successful mastery and comprehension. A table of contents, glossary with simplified pronunciations, and index all enhance comprehension.

A mystery unsolved to this day A mystic who confounds the cynics A writer looking for the story that will make his name A ghost ship appears in the mist. To the struggling author Arthur Conan Doyle, it is an inspiration. To Violet Petra, the gifted American psychic, it is a cruel reminder. To the death-obsessed Victorian public, it is a fascinating distraction. And to one family, tied to the sea for generations, it is a tragedy. In salons and on rough seas, at séances and in the imagination of a genius, these stories converge in unexpected ways as the mystery of the ghost ship deepens. But will the sea yield its secrets, and to whom?

Mary Celeste is an iconic mystery - a perfectly seaworthy ship found wandering aimlessly at sea, her crew strangely and inexplicably missing. Paul Begg tells the story of the discovery of Mary Celeste and the people who vanished, and investigates over a century’s worth of speculation and survivors’ tales, searching for the facts behind one of the world’s great mysteries.