Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

From the bestselling author of The Taking of Jemima Boone, the unbelievable true story of a real-life Swiss Family Robinson (and their dog) who faced sharks, shipwreck, and betrayal in this gripping work of narrative nonfiction.

On December 10, 1887, a shark fishing boat disappeared. On board the doomed vessel were the Walkers—the ship’s captain Frederick, his wife Elizabeth, their three teenage sons, and their dog—along with the ship’s crew. The family had spotted a promising fishing location when a terrible storm arose, splitting their vessel in two and leaving those onboard adrift on the perilous sea.

When the castaways awoke the next morning, they discovered they had been washed ashore—on an island inhabited by a large but ragged and emaciated man who introduced himself as Hans. Hans appeared to have been there for a while and could quickly educate the Walkers and their crew on the island’s resources. But Hans had a secret . . . and as the Walker family gradually came to learn more, what seemed like a stroke of luck to have the mysterious man’s assistance became something ominous, something darker in this incredible survival story.

Like David Grann and Stacy Schiff, Matthew Pearl unveils one of the most incredible yet little-known historical true stories of 19th-century adventure, and the only known instance in history of an actual family of castaways. Save Our Souls asks us to consider who we might become if we found ourselves trapped on a deserted island.

• A True Story of Survival at Sea: Follows the Walker family—a captain, his wife, their three sons, and their dog—as a violent storm splits their vessel in two, leaving them at the mercy of the unforgiving Pacific.
• Deserted Island Mystery: After washing ashore, their hopes are raised by a mysterious castaway named Hans. But his secrets and strange behavior soon turn their miraculous rescue into something far more sinister.
• Shipwreck and Betrayal: Based on an unbelievable but little-known historical event, this chronicle of endurance explores the dark side of human nature when all rules of society disappear.
• Meticulously Researched History: Perfect for fans of David Grann and Stacy Schiff, this immersive account unveils the only known instance of a real-life family of castaways surviving against all odds.

“Written with the compelling narrative and literary flair of a work of fiction.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"What’s remarkable about Save Our Souls is how Pearl manages to center the deeply fascinating story of the Walkers while also making time to explore the broader context of the world in which they travelled. Readers are treated to an array of engrossing tangents and compelling anecdotes that reveal an environment rife with lies, betrayals, and lawlessness . . . . Pearl provides a fitting tribute to the Walkers and their astonishing era, one that’s appropriately attuned to both its inspiring virtues and its appalling vices." - WBUR

"An incredibly suspenseful and entertaining read . . . . Matthew Pearl’s able hand is very much on display as he is one of our finest researchers, and his mastery of historical fiction drives this account through like a suspense novel." - Bookreporter

“A rousing history. . . . Pearl paces the account like a thriller. . . .This real-life Swiss Family Robinson will keep readers up all night.” - Publishers Weekly

"Save Our Souls is a story, not a study. The distinction is vital. You get to know these people and their relationships with each other. You live and die with every near-rescue that isn’t. Most important, you keep turning the page.” - Boston Globe

“Pearl . . . takes readers on a rollicking adventure through the 19th-century Pacific with a page-turning historical true-crime narrative reminiscent of the works of David Grann or Nathaniel Philbrick.” - WBUR.org

"Save Our Souls is part history, part murder mystery, part sea-going adventure—entirely captivating." - New York Journal of Books

"I’m a sucker for Big Boat Books like David Grann’s The Wager and Erik Larson’s Dead Wake, so Matthew Pearl’s new work of narrative nonfiction is right up my slipway. In the winter of 1887, an entire family of five, their dog, and two dozen crew members disappeared when their shark fishing boat was blown off course by a storm near Hawaii. What follows is a much darker version of Swiss Family Robinson when the shipwreck survivors encounter a stranded psychopath." - Adam Morgan, Esquire

“Pearl unfolds this tale with suspense. . . . His telling is notable both for its uncanny parallels to the apocryphal Swiss Family Robinson story that predated it and because the real-life shipwreck of Captain Frederick Walker, his wife and their sons was more dire than Disney’s idyllic fantasy. Pearl renders clear connections to the fictional story while writing a real-life adventure full of deceit, villainy and murderous plotting. . . . As grounded in the 19th century as it is, Pearl’s take on the story of the castaways of the Wandering Minstrel also feels apt for our present moment—more Lord of the Flies than Swiss Family Robinson.” - Los Angeles Times

“A genuine Swiss Family Robinson adventure, but darker. . . . A realistic castaway account.” - Kirkus Reviews

“This dramatic story of good and evil pits the power of teamwork and family against ruthless ambition and selfishness. An illuminating chronicle of perseverance and survival on a barren island, Save Our Souls brings history to life.” - Booklist

"A staggering account of a family castaway on a deserted island and confronted by a mysterious man who first appears to be their salvation, before a more difficult truth emerges. Pearl works in the vein of David Grann and consistently produces first-rate nonfiction." - Literary Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of the Year"

“You are a castaway on a coral atoll, and you find a Man Friday—only he turns out to be a convicted murderer—oh, what a story! Matthew Pearl tells it, this dark tale of the 1887 wreck of the Wandering Minstrel with flair and aplomb: transfixingly brilliant." - Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of Knowing What We Know