The Battery and the Boiler is an amazing novel written by R.M. Ballantyne. Amidst a tumultuous voyage, a baby boy is born on board an emigrant ship amidst lightning and thunder. Living in destitution, he endures hardships whilst growing up. Johnson, a cook on the ship, takes note of the infant's arrival and foresees something extraordinary in his future. The resounding cries of the newborn precede Johnson's prediction of a remarkable fate that is certain to unfold. Events that follow in the book likely revolve around the protagonist, who remains nameless in the excerpt provided. As the story progresses, the boy emerges as the central hero, encountering various adventures and growing older along the way.
R. M. Ballantyne was a Scottish writer of young adult literature who produced more than a hundred books between 24 April 1825 and 8 February 1894. He was also a skilled artist; some of his watercolors were on display at the Royal Scottish Academy. The ninth of ten children and youngest son of Alexander Thomson Ballantyne (1776-1847) and his wife Anne, Ballantyne was born in Edinburgh on April 24, 1825. Robert's uncle James Ballantyne (1772-1833) was Sir Walter Scott's printer, and Alexander worked as a newspaper editor and printer in the family business "Ballantyne & Co" based at Paul's Works on the Canongate. The family is documented to have resided at 20 Fettes Row in Edinburgh's northern New Town in 1832-1833. The Ballantyne printing company collapsed the next year with debts of £130,000 as a result of a UK-wide banking crisis, which caused a decrease in the family's finances. Ballantyne moved to Canada at the age of 16 and worked for the Hudson's Bay Company for five years. He traveled by canoe and sleigh to the regions that are now the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec to trade with the local First Nations and Native Americans for furs; these experiences served as the inspiration for his book The Young Fur Traders.