Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea
First edition
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| Author |
L. Frank Baum (as "Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald") |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Howard Heath |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre |
Adventure fiction young adult fiction |
| Publisher | Reilly & Britton |
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Publication date
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1906 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 271 pp. |
Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea is a juvenile adventure novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The book was Baum's first effort at writing specifically for an audience of adolescent boys, a market he would pursue in the coming years of his career. The novel was first published in 1906, under the pen name "Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald," one of Baum's multiple pseudonyms.
In the years around the turn of the twentieth century (1897–1905), Baum had succeeded in establishing himself as a popular author of children's books, most notably with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). By the middle of the twentieth century's first decade, he was working diligently to branch out into other markets. In 1905 he released his first adult novel, The Fate of a Crown (as the work of "Schuyler Staunton"); in 1906 he issued his first books for adolescent girls, Annabel (as by "Suzanne Metcalf") and Aunt Jane's Nieces (by "Edith Van Dyne"), as well as his first book for boys. The 1906 Sam Steele title was the first book in a projected series; "Capt. Fitzgerald" followed up with Sam Steele's Adventures in Panama in 1907.
Unusually for Baum, the tale of Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea is told in the first person, by the title character. Sam Steele is the son of a sea captain; his father is reported killed in a shipwreck, and Sam is quickly cheated of his inheritance. Now an orphan, he meets his maternal uncle, Naboth Perkins, another sea captain and ship-owner; together the two set sail in the Pacific trade. Sam Steele "is a stereotyped ideal: a capable, brave, enterprising, likable, manly sixteen-year-old American."
From San Francisco, Sam and his uncle embark on Naboth's ship the Flipper, carrying provisions north for the miners of the Alaska Gold Rush. A storm casts them onto a remote island, occupied by stranded and desperate miners who have struck a rich goldfield. The crew of the Flipper have to cope with thieves and the hazards of nature before they can return with ample rewards for their trouble.
At home again, Sam and Naboth discover that Sam's father Captain Steele has survived shipwreck (with the loss of a leg). Re-united with his father, Sam regains his lost patrimony.
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Wikipedia