To see the transcribed text with images (if possible) use the FB2 version. At the time at which Ballantyne was writing there were very few lifeboats stationed around the British shores, yet there was a very great need for them. Some shipowners were very mean about keeping their vessels in good repair, so that if the ship went aground or struck a rock, it would not be very long before she was pounded to bits, with the loss of cargo and life. It was even known for shipowners to deliberately over-insure their ships, so that they actually made money by the loss of a vessel whose age had made it too difficult and expensive to keep in good repair. This problem was one which Ballantyne took very seriously. In fact he was able to collect enough money by subscriptions to commission at least one new lifeboat. Partly through his efforts the RNLI - the Royal National Lifeboat Institute - came into being, and still exists to this day doing wonderful and fine work. Ballantyne wrote several books with a lifeboat theme. Apart from this one there was also "Saved by the Lifeboat", and of course his books on lighthouses and lightships made many references to lifeboats. As always he has taken a serious topic, and woven an interesting tale around it, one that would keep the attention of his young readers, while every now and then throughout the story another little lesson about lifeboats and the need for them was to be found. First published 1864.