The romance of Captain Duffy by H. De Vere Stacpoole
The romance of Captain Duffy by H. De Vere Stacpoole is an adventure short story written in the early 20th century. Centered on a South Seas castaway episode, it pairs island survival with a restrained, ultimately unconsummated romance. A traveler in Malacca meets Captain Duffy, who recounts how a mutiny on a Canton pig boat left him adrift and then stranded on tiny Fovea Island. Living on fruit and crabs, he builds
a palm-thatch shack and a shell-lined “bower-bird” garden to keep sane. After a night’s distant explosion, a young woman—survivor of a blown-up mail steamer—washes ashore in her dance dress, dazed and unable to recall the disaster. Duffy shelters her, soothes her with gentle inventions about the fate of others, and keeps a respectful distance. A weathered trading schooner appears; the captain’s wife takes the girl under her wing, and they carry both castaways to Canton. While milliners refit the girl and newspapers inflate Duffy into a modest hero, he plans to declare himself—until her family arrives with a polished suitor who greets her with an unmistakable kiss. Seeing the gulf between their worlds, Duffy slips away on the next ship, leaving his story as a tender, wry tale of courage, caretaking, and quiet renunciation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Stacpoole, H. De Vere (Henry De Vere), 1863-1951 |
|---|---|
| Title | The romance of Captain Duffy |
| Original Publication | New York: Street & Smith Corporation, 1929. |
| Series Title | Produced from the May 7, 1929 issue of The Popular Magazine |
| Credits | Prepared by volunteers at BookCove (bookcove.net) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Islands -- Fiction |
| Subject | South Pacific Ocean -- Fiction |
| Subject | Castaways -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77920 |
| Release Date | Feb 12, 2026 |
| Most Recently Updated | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 228 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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