''The Death Ship'' (German title: ''Das Totenschiff'') is a novel by the pseudonymous author known as

B. Traven B. Traven (; Bruno Traven in some accounts) was the pen name of a novelist, presumed to be German, whose real name, nationality, date and place of birth and details of biography are all subject to dispute. One certainty about Traven's life is ...

. Originally published in German in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

, and in English in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

, it was Traven's first major success and is still the author's second best known work after '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''. Owing to its scathing criticism of

bureaucratic The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

authority,

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, and abusive labor practices, it is often described as an anarchist novel.

Plot summary

Set just after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, ''The Death Ship'' describes the predicament of merchant seamen who lack documentation of

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, making them effectively stateless and therefore unable to find legal residence or employment in any nation. The narrator is Gerard Gales, a US sailor who claims to be from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, and who is stranded in Antwerp without passport or working papers. Unable to prove his identity or his eligibility for employment, Gales is repeatedly arrested and

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

from one country to the next, by government officials who do not want to be bothered with either assisting or prosecuting him. When he finally manages to find work, it is on the ''Yorikke'' (possibly a reference to the

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

play ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''), the dangerous and decrepit ship of the title, where undocumented workers from around the world are treated as expendable slaves. The term ''death ship'' refers to any boat so decrepit that it is worth more to its owners overinsured and sunk than it would be worth afloat. The title of the book is translated directly from the German ''Das Totenschiff''; in English, they are called '' coffin ships''.

Publication history

Traven first wrote ''Das Totenschiff'' in English in 1923 or 1924. Editor Ernst Preczang of the German publisher requested its translation into German, having appreciated Traven's '. Published in 1926, ''Das Totenschiff'' was Traven's first book and his renown was cemented in its success. There were 12 German editions and eight language translations before its first English publication in 1934. Just before the German version went to press, the publisher wrote to Traven asking for publicity information and photographs. The author replied:

My personal history would not be disappointing to readers, but it is my own affair which I want to keep to myself. I am in fact in no way more important than is the typesetter for my books, the man who works the mill; ... no more important than the man who binds my books and the woman who wraps them and the scrubwoman who cleans up the office.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

In 1959 it was adapted into a film of the same name (also known as ''Ship of the Dead'') directed by

Georg Tressler Georg Tressler (January 25, 1917 – January 6, 2007) was a Vienna-born German film actor and film director. Also known as George Tressler, Hans Tressler, Hans Dressler, Hans Georg Keil and Hans Sternbeck (per IMDb). The son of actor Otto T ...

. A copy of the book was seen as part of the drug-induced wreckage of Raoul Duke's

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

hotel room in the film adaption of ''

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream'' is a 1971 novel in the gonzo journalism style by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is a ''roman à clef'', rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follo ...

''. The Finnish alternative theater group KOM staged an adaptation of the novel in 1982.

References

Bibliography

External links