Great Eastern The Great Eastern went back to cable work and during the 1870s laid cables between France and America and from Bombay to Suez. When that work came to an end and there were no other prospects, she was sold at auction. In 1888, Great Eastern went to the wreckers, who had estimated the job would take 200 men one year. Once again, they underestimated the Great Eastern, for the solidly constructed ship took those 200 men, working ’round the clock, two years to break her up. Brunel might have been pleased. Of those 191 passengers who strolled down the gangway after Great Eastern completed her last
return trip to Europe in 1867, one was a young Frenchman back from his first visit to America. He had a vivid imagination, with an uncanny talent for seeing into the future, and the Great Eastern captured his interest. He realized the vessel was something from the future, a ship ahead of its time. A book would come out of his 26 days aboard the Great Eastern, called “A Floating City,” and the experience provided inspiration for other stories even more famous. His name was Jules Verne. Gary Crawford and his wife, Susan, operate Crawfords Nautical Books, a unique bookstore on Tilghman’s Island.
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