Castaways of the Flying Dutchman





The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is the first in a series of three books surrounding the adventures of Ben and Ned. It is made up of three books, detailing the origins of Ben and Ned and their adventures in Chapelvale.

The Ship
The first book, The Ship, tells of how Ben and Ned began travelling around the world, doing good deeds.

It book begins with captain Phillip Vanderdecken talking to a Chinese gem dealer. After bargaining with the dealer, the captain agrees to deliver several gems from Valparaiso on his ship, the Flying Dutchman.

The book then shifts to an oppressed, mute teenage boy, running from his father and stepbrothers. At the edge of the water, the boy has nowhere to run, and so is caught by his brothers. One of them accidently pushes him into the water, but with the small strength he has left, he climbs aboard the Flying Dutchman.

There, he is forced to become a galley slave to the cook. His name is changed to Nebuchadnezzar. At one of the ports of call (specifically Esbjerg, Denmark), he finds a dog. After Nebuchadnezzar (whose name had been shortened to Neb) shows kindness to the dog, it stays with him and becomes his companion. Neb named the dog Denmark, after the port of call.

Three deckhands, Scraggs, Jamil, and Sindh then began plotting a mutiny. Neb knows of this, but is powerless to do anything about it due to his inability to speak. One night, as go to kill the captain, Neb and Denmark leap at them. With the captain's help, they manage to stop the mutineers.

As the voyage goes on, the Flying Dutchman begins running short of food. Trapped far beyond any port of call, they seem powerless to stop their fate of slow starvation. The weather worsens, and the become unable to go back or forward.

As the last of their food gives out, the weather suddenly calms, as if a joke was being played on the starving sailors. Captain Vanderdecken begins hurling curses toward the Lord. Suddenly, an Angel appears and curses the Flying Dutchman to forever sail the seas, with none of the crew to be spared the awful fate.

None save two. Neb and Denmark (shortened to Den), due to their purity of heart, are freed to wander the world, doing good and never growing old. To help their quest, they are given the ability to communicate telepathically, and Neb is given the ability to speak. With this, the first book closes.

The Shepherd
The second book, The Shepherd, is extremely short, and deals with Neb and Den's time with Luis the Shepherd on Tierra Del Fuego. While there, Neb learns to speak Spanish, and Den better learns to communicate telepathically. (In the first book, he mainly speaks in growls.)

After three years go by, a vicious storm hits Tierra Del Fuego. As Luis goes to get his sheep, he falls off a high cliff. Neb carries Luis back to the hut, but Luis finally dies. The angel appears again and tells Neb and Den that they must leave at the sound of a bell. A ram's bell brings the angel's message, and the two friends head away.

The Village
As the third book opens, two hundred and seventy-three years have gone by. Neb and Den have reversed their names, becoming Ben and Ned. Together, they have wandered the world, doing good. They come to a town called Chapelvale in 1896 by rail.

Once there, they go out into the country, trying to find a barn to spend the night in. They meet a lady named Winifred Winn (called Winnie), and Ned scares a local gang of bullies from their attack on Winnie. She offers to give him shelter for several days, in which case the pair accepts.

Characters in Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

Release details

 * 2001, US, Philomel Books, ISBN 9780399236013, Pub. Date: March 2001, Hardcover
 * 2002, US, Ace, ISBN 9780441009145, Pub. Date: February 2002, Paperback
 * 2002, UK, Puffin Books, ISBN 0141312114, Pub. Date: March 2002, Paperback
 * 2003, US, Puffin, ISBN 9780142501184, Pub. Date: March 2003, Paperback