From Triumph to Tragedy

The Pegasus, a pioneering ship whose voyages helped promote Victorian enterprise, carried people and cargo between Leith and Hull. Goods included oil for the chemical industry, mail coaches, menageries, and racehorses. She was involved in daring sea rescues, smuggling, and several accidents. Her wreck, off Holy Island, in 1843, was the worst merchant shipping disaster in British waters, with some 70 lives lost. It was also a mystery. Why had she struck a rock on a calm, clear night? A parliamentary inquiry followed. Two of the first deep sea divers worked on recovering the dead and salvaging the wreck. Help for the victims and their families came from many sources, including the author, Charles Dickens. The stories of those lost form the appendix to this fascinating book.