Unlike many authors covering the topic, Verne concentrates on the deposed captain of the Bounty, William Bligh. After mutineers forced Bligh into the Bounty's 23-foot (7.0 m) launch on 28 April 1789, he led loyal crew members on a 6,710 kilometers (4,170 mi) journey to safety, reaching Timor 47 days later.[citation needed]
The original text was written by Gabriel Marcel (1843–1909), a geographer from the National Library of France. Jules Verne’s work was proofreading. Verne supposedly bought the rights to the text for 300 francs, but it had not been verified.[citation needed]