a defense for a charge of murder, and the two defendants were convicted, though their death sentence was commuted to six months' imprisonment. This case has eerie similarities with Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) as both people cannibalised shared the exact same name. Fictional references in literature Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838), has a minor character, Richard Parker, who is cannibalised by the shipwreck's survivors. In 1866, W.S. Gilbert wrote a song, "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell", in which the last survivor of shipwreck sings that he is the entire crew after drawing lots and eating his other shipmates. The stories of Richard Parker (real and fictional) inspired the name of the tiger in Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi, in which cannibalism is discussed in relation to a shipwreck. The 2019 movie Harpoon, in which three friends are stranded aboard their yacht at sea, references both the incident aboard the Mignonette and the Edgar Allen Poe story. One of the characters is also named Richard Parker. See also Barratry (admiralty law) Man overboard Mutiny The captain goes down with the ship Women and children first References Further reading Cannibalism Customary legal systems