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A review by bookwomble
Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake
4.0
Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor has been a firm favourite since I delightedly found a second-hand 1977 copy back in the '90s. Great find though it was, that edition was in a small format that compressed the lines in Peake's illustrations, dropping detail and, where colour was added, it was a vivid but disappointingly flat, orange-yellow only: [bc:Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor|8660980|Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor|Mervyn Peake|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280183066l/8660980._SX50_.jpg|1332136]
Finally, I've decide to upgrade to the large format Walker Books edition of 2001 - what a revelation! The delicacy and intricate shading and hatching of Peake's pen are now clearly visible and, whilst the colours, where used, are still flat, they are colours: plural! Pastel shades of green, blue and pink abound, earth colours for (most of) the pirates, purple and lilac for the strange creatures of the island and, of course, bright yellow for the Yellow Creature!
I've always suspected that the tattoo of the woman on Charlie Choke's left arm was Peake's wife, [a:Maeve Gilmore|58130|Maeve Gilmore|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284805804p2/58130.jpg], now I can read the name beneath the portrait to confirm that it is: a romantically humorous touch.
What's it about? The illustrations, really. They are absolutely integral to the book, which has little in the way of plot or narrative. Such as it is, it's a slight tale of the pirates discovering an island full of strange creatures, one of which becomes the object of the Captain Slaughterboard's rather obsessional affection, with whom he eventually decides to settle down and "drop anchor". Despite the lack of any deep story, the book is made vibrant and full of humorous energy by the fantastic quality of Peake's illustrations.
Finally, I've decide to upgrade to the large format Walker Books edition of 2001 - what a revelation! The delicacy and intricate shading and hatching of Peake's pen are now clearly visible and, whilst the colours, where used, are still flat, they are colours: plural! Pastel shades of green, blue and pink abound, earth colours for (most of) the pirates, purple and lilac for the strange creatures of the island and, of course, bright yellow for the Yellow Creature!
I've always suspected that the tattoo of the woman on Charlie Choke's left arm was Peake's wife, [a:Maeve Gilmore|58130|Maeve Gilmore|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284805804p2/58130.jpg], now I can read the name beneath the portrait to confirm that it is: a romantically humorous touch.
What's it about? The illustrations, really. They are absolutely integral to the book, which has little in the way of plot or narrative. Such as it is, it's a slight tale of the pirates discovering an island full of strange creatures, one of which becomes the object of the Captain Slaughterboard's rather obsessional affection, with whom he eventually decides to settle down and "drop anchor". Despite the lack of any deep story, the book is made vibrant and full of humorous energy by the fantastic quality of Peake's illustrations.