- Who is it for?
- Ages 10–14
- How long is it?
- 32 min
- What does it include?
- Synced read-along and a quiz
- What does it cost?
- Premium access in Emma's Library
About this audiobook
After a ferry collision in San Francisco Bay, the sheltered critic Humphrey Van Weyden is rescued by the sealing schooner Ghost. Its captain, Wolf Larsen, refuses to return him to shore and forces him to serve as cabin boy under the malicious cook Thomas Mugridge. Larsen is physically powerful, intellectually brilliant, and violently convinced that life has no value beyond the will to survive. Humphrey learns seamanship and self-reliance while witnessing resistance from abused crewmen. The Ghost later rescues the poet Maud Brewster, and Humphrey's wish to protect her becomes mutual partnership rather than possession. They escape in a small boat to an uninhabited island and learn to build shelter and gather food together. The Ghost drifts back with its crew gone, Wolf Larsen abandoned and afflicted by attacks that progressively take his sight and movement. Even helpless, he tries to sabotage their repairs. Humphrey and Maud restore the schooner while caring for the man who imprisoned them; Larsen dies without surrendering his philosophy, and the two survivors reach rescue having proved through action that dependence and compassion can create strength.
Why it's worth a listen
Literary critic Humphrey Van Weyden is pulled from a ferry wreck by the Ghost, a sealing schooner ruled by Wolf Larsen — sailor, self-taught philosopher, and tyrant. Forced to work, Humphrey learns practical courage while arguing with a man who believes life is appetite and strength. Then another castaway, the writer Maud Brewster, gives escape a purpose beyond survival. The sea adventure becomes a duel over whether compassion is weakness or the beginning of freedom.
What listeners will learn
Subjects: literature, storytelling, historical imagination.
- character
- setting
- conflict
- choice
- consequence
- theme
- retelling
- wolf
- classic
- fiction
Questions for after listening
- Retell the central conflict in order.
- Name one important choice and what happened because of it.
- How did the setting or tradition shape the story?
A question to keep
If power can force obedience, what makes compassion more than weakness?
Chapters
- Out of the Fog
- The Cabin Boy's Apprenticeship
- The Price of Rebellion
- A Woman of Letters
- Endeavour Island
- The Ghost Returns
- A Question to Keep
Editorial review
Quality reviewed · 98/100 on . Certificate EL-4C71-69EE is bound to the exact narrated script.
The review checks factual care, audience fit, teaching quality, structure, tone and source honesty. Read the editorial standards.
Published 2026-07-13 · Updated
