The War of the Axe; Or, Adventures in South Africa

The narrative follows a sixteen-year-old Tom Flinders, recently finished at Rugby, as he voyages from England to the Cape aboard the clipper Surat Castle. The ship calls at Saint Helena and then encounters a violent multi-day storm that batters passengers and crew, throws Tom about on deck, and leaves the cabin in chaos. Background sketches describe Tom's upbringing as the son of a retired officer who farmed near Cape Town and his spirited, athletic character. The opening sections combine seafaring peril, shipboard life, and the protagonist's transition from schoolboy to returning settler in a colonial port.