After several unsuccessful attempts, on July 27, 1866 the great transatlantic telegraph cable was hauled ashore in Heart s Content, Newfoundland. After several botched attempts, the continents of Europe and America were joined. At a length of 1686 nautical miles, no less a vessel than the "Great Eastern" was used to transport the vast length of coiled wire across the wild and inhospitable Atlantic ocean, transforming in an unprecedented way the manner in which news could travel about the globe. This is the contemporary account of one of Victorian Britain s greatest engineering feats, linking the New World with the Old and heralding the days of mass-communication."