The Sea Captain's Wife: A Novel (Paperback)

Staff Reviews

The Sea Captains Wife, by Beth Powning, is recommended to anyone who would enjoy an adventure story of late 19th century life on the high seas. The book is told from a woman's perspective, by young Azuba, who marries a well respected and experienced sea captain. Though she is gifted a lovely home facing the sea built by her beloved father, Azuba is not content with the notion of a lifetime watching the Bay of Fundy for her Nathaniel's return. Refusing to acquiesce to a long distance marriage, she begs her husband to take her and their young daughter aboard The Traveller, the merchant vessel that is Nathaniel's true life and home. Only after an incident which taints Azuba's reputation at home does Nathaniel allow her to join him. An atmosphere of contempt haunts the beginning of their world travels. The novel captures the evolution of a marriage through harrowing circumstances, the prescribed roles of women in 19 century America, and gives vivid account of the ever present risk and peril suffered by the crews of merchant vessels of the era. Powning writes here with great beauty, suspense and emotional insight. — Nancy Scheemaker