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scholastic_squid's review
4.0
Wonderful story of a courageous female in the mid 1800's.
I was lent this book to read, and I finished it quickly and could barely put it down. The main characters are a husband and wife - Joshua & Mary Patten, the first mate - Keeler, and the second mate - Timothy Hare. As they begin sailing down the coast of New England to head toward San Francisco, the Captain and the first mate get into a disagreement. Keeler is disregarding his duties as a first mate and he is also thought to be conjuring up a mutiny. He is locked away, and the Captain must resume duties for two. He falls ill and then Mary and Hare must pick up the slack or head to Rio for medical attention. They chose to continue on to San Fran, and have to learn how to work together with the crew and each other. The are storms abound and lack of wind, causing the ship much more trouble than it needs. Pick up a copy.
I was lent this book to read, and I finished it quickly and could barely put it down. The main characters are a husband and wife - Joshua & Mary Patten, the first mate - Keeler, and the second mate - Timothy Hare. As they begin sailing down the coast of New England to head toward San Francisco, the Captain and the first mate get into a disagreement. Keeler is disregarding his duties as a first mate and he is also thought to be conjuring up a mutiny. He is locked away, and the Captain must resume duties for two. He falls ill and then Mary and Hare must pick up the slack or head to Rio for medical attention. They chose to continue on to San Fran, and have to learn how to work together with the crew and each other. The are storms abound and lack of wind, causing the ship much more trouble than it needs. Pick up a copy.
elanorh's review
5.0
Gripping, based on historical figures but all supposition about what happened on the voyage in question. Very interesting.
jokruck's review
3.0
A low 3, bordering on 2.5. admittedly based on my ignorance on the subject of sailing. so much of the book was detail on how the ship was being sailed that it all ran together in a haze of words. perhaps if I knew anything about sailing, catching the wind, or even had a clear visual in my head of what the ship looked like and where all the sails were I would have enjoyed it more.
nferre's review
4.0
This is one of those books that I bought while on vacation, probably visiting a seaport, I read 20 pages or so and dropped the book thinking it was boring. A couple of years later, trying to get my Mt TBR down, I picked it up again, thinking I'd give it one more cursory glance and put it on my AVL list. Ten minutes after starting it, I was hooked on the story, more than that, on the characters, as my great grandmother married a seafaring man from Boston in 1853. While he was away at sea he wrote to her often, and I am now the owner of those letters. I was fascinated as this book is based on the true story of Mary Patten and her husband, Joshua. Joshua is Captain of a barque headed from the East Coast to San Francisco in 1856. He takes his wife with him as was common at that time, but is strapped to find a first mate until the last minute. His last minute choice will reap havoc on board as Joshua gets deathly ill, and his first mate gets thrown in the brig. Luckily his wife had learned to navigate and his 2nd mate was hard working, knowledgeable if not experienced and trustworthy. Between the two of them they take the ship through Cape Horn, one of the most treacherous passages in the world.
The book resonated with me as I found many similarities with my greatgrandmother and her first husband (whom we think was lost at sea), and for the strength of Mary, who not only tended her husband but managed to get the ship through the straights during awful weather, with a mutinous crew on board. All these things show up in the letters I have so I know that not only was this story not far-fetched, but a reality of the times.
The book resonated with me as I found many similarities with my greatgrandmother and her first husband (whom we think was lost at sea), and for the strength of Mary, who not only tended her husband but managed to get the ship through the straights during awful weather, with a mutinous crew on board. All these things show up in the letters I have so I know that not only was this story not far-fetched, but a reality of the times.
booksandbosox's review
3.0
Mary Patten discovers what she is made of on an ill-fated voyage around Cape Horn.
Okay, this wasn't exactly my cup of tea but it wasn't totally awful. Despite giving away everything in the jacket blurb, the book still managed to keep me interested even after I realized there would be no surprises. It's a bit of a slow burn - takes a little while to get into. But Mary is an enjoyable woman. The book is a bit deceptive, though - it doesn't focus quite as much on Mary as one would expect given the title and blurb. But the ship's voyage is interesting enough. It kept an even pace throughout. It's interesting to note that this is based on history; however, I found the epilogue (which is really more of an author's note) a bit jarring - it breaks the flow of the narrative too much to seem like a proper epilogue. I think of this as a Treasure Island for adults except without the treasure or the island. And, simply because it also features a woman's adventures with the sea, I was reminded often of Ahab's Wife, though that is much more richly detailed. Overall, a slow start to my reading list.
Okay, this wasn't exactly my cup of tea but it wasn't totally awful. Despite giving away everything in the jacket blurb, the book still managed to keep me interested even after I realized there would be no surprises. It's a bit of a slow burn - takes a little while to get into. But Mary is an enjoyable woman. The book is a bit deceptive, though - it doesn't focus quite as much on Mary as one would expect given the title and blurb. But the ship's voyage is interesting enough. It kept an even pace throughout. It's interesting to note that this is based on history; however, I found the epilogue (which is really more of an author's note) a bit jarring - it breaks the flow of the narrative too much to seem like a proper epilogue. I think of this as a Treasure Island for adults except without the treasure or the island. And, simply because it also features a woman's adventures with the sea, I was reminded often of Ahab's Wife, though that is much more richly detailed. Overall, a slow start to my reading list.
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