-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder
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.
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.
Like David Grann and Stacy Schiff, Matthew Pearl unveils one of the most incredible yet little-known historical true stories, 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.
"Pearl paces the account like a thriller as he details Jorgensen's multiple crimes and how the Walkers managed to cohabitate with him until, in 1889, a passing ship rescued them. This real-life Swiss Family Robinson will keep readers up all night." —Publishers Weekly
"A genuine Swiss Family Robinson adventure, but darker." —Kirkus Reviews
"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
This information about Save Our Souls was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Sigrid Estrada
Matthew Pearl's books have been international and New York Times bestsellers and have been translated into more than thirty languages. He edits Truly*Adventurous magazine, and his nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and Slate. He has been chosen as Best Author in Boston magazine's "Best of Boston" issue and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
If you liked Save Our Souls, try these:
by Charlotte McConaghy
Published 2026
An enthralling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves.
by Susan Choi
Published 2026
A novel tracing a father's disappearance across time, nations, and memory, from the author of Trust Exercise.
by Nathaniel Ian Miller
Published 2022
The "ceaselessly brilliant" story of one man who banishes himself to a solitary life in the Arctic Circle, and is saved by good friends, a loyal dog, and a surprise visit that changes everything (Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Orphan Master's Son).
Being slightly paranoid is like being slightly pregnant – it tends to get worse.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
