Abigail [Paperback]

Joan Druett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Born at sea and raised in early nineteenth-century New Zealand, strong-willed Abigail Sherman is the daughter of the American owner of a shore-whaling station. Trouble with the English authorities prompts Captain Sherman to set Abigail on board a ship bound for Massachusetts, at the start of a series of hair-raising adventures that shifts from vicious mutinies to storms off Cape Horn, to encounters with militant women’s rightists, to a murder trial in New Bedford.

Teased by a cryptic riddle that promises a fortune, and shocked by news of her father’s brutal assassination, Abigail escapes her puritanical relatives and heads back to New Zealand, determined to claim the ship that is her rightful inheritance. It is a turbulent expedition, in which she crosses paths with gamblers, fortune-hunters, and opportunistic whaling captains, and survives the savage jungles of Panama and the dangerous alleyways of the ports of Chile and Peru, finally to meet the ultimate challenge of treachery in the South Pacific.

Here, Joan Druett, the author of twelve popular maritime books, has created a novel of compulsive readability. Superbly researched, the story of Abigail confirms the reputation of a widely acclaimed spinner of tales of the sea.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having spent her early years on a 19th century whaling ship, Abigail Sherman can't quite get her land legs when her father packs her off to New Bedford, Mass., to learn some proper manners. Everything she knowssalacious sea chanteys, the wide-open view from the top of the riggings, the relaxed pace of life in New Zealand, where she and her father settledis of little use in stiff New England. Poor Abigail is constantly putting a foot wrong. When a letter bearing the sad, perplexing tidings of her father's murder arrives, she bamboozles her way aboard one whaler and then into a marriage of convenience with the glowering young captain of another. Her small legacy is the brig she grew up on and a puzzling rhyme that may lead to a fortune, but before she can return to New Zealand to collect, Abigail must faceand conquergrumbling sailors, a murderous mystery man, and her own attractive, hot-headed husband. Excellent characters in full sail amid tangy salt air and creaky timbers offer prime entertainment. Though New Zealander Druett ( Exotic Intruders ) uses one too many romantic cliche, she engagingly captures the atmosphere of whalers and their world. Doubleday Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

New Zealand, a whaling ship, a spirited young woman, and a fast-paced plot are the successful mix in this first novel. Abigail Sherman was born, raised, and at home on her father's whaling ship. Following her mother's death, she is sent to the dour household of a Massachusetts cousin. News of her father's murder propels her to escape and marry a young whaling captain in a desperate bid to return to New Zealand, claim the brig her father had deeded her, and seek the answer to the riddle he left for her. Lots of adventure, a colorful cast of characters, and enough whaling details to provide a first-rate vicarious experience. Doubleday Book Club Alternate. Joan Hinkemeyer, Englewood P.L., Col.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595132979
• ISBN-13: 978-0595132973
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,848,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Back in the year 1984, on the picture-poster tropical island of Rarotonga, I literally fell into whaling history when I tumbled into a grave. A great tree had been felled by a recent hurricane, exposing a gravestone that had been hidden for more than one and a half centuries. It was the memorial to a young whaling wife, who had sailed with her husband on the New Bedford ship Harrison in the year 1845. And so my fascination with maritime history was triggered ... resulting in 18 books (so far). The latest -- number nineteen -- is a biography of a truly extraordinary man, Tupaia, star navigator and creator of amazing art.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best adventure/romance/suspense book I've ever read, July 30, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Fall River, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abigail (Hardcover)

I picked up this book recently and couldn't bear to put it down. I'm disappointed that I'm done with it! The characters were believable and interesting. They were an intrinsic part of a solid, suspenseful tale told at an exciting pace. The wealth of fascinating, historically accurate detail about the whaling industry in the early 1820s was woven artfully throughout the story. Ms. Druett does a great job of twisting the plot, so just when you think you know what's going to happen...it doesn't. A wonderful read! Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Abigail (Hardcover)

Whales breach, harpoons fly, blubber melts, canvas fills, sailors chant, and action abounds as Druett explains the complicated and fascinating business of whaling through the life of the title character, a young woman born aboard a ship involved in that dangerous, bloody, smoky maritime enterprise. The action travels from the wilds of Mongonui, New Zealand,(where Abigail and her father live and her father hopes to make his fortune) to the far more sedate and civilized New Bedford, Massachusetts, then center for one of the 19th century's most lucrative businesses. If murder, mystery, and mayhem weren't enough, this fascinating tale pulses with period detail as well. Written by the author of the very well-received Hen Frigates (named as one of the New York Public Library's "Books to Remember 1999"), Abigail was first released in hard cover by Random House in 1988, then again in paper by Bantam, both editions with covers that made them look like real bodice-rippers, which the book most certainly is not. Some enterprising publisher ought to option Abigail, out-of-print for several years now and release it in a nice trade paper edition sans the sensational covers. The book belongs in the genre of fine historical fiction, as in the writings of Iain Pears and Margaret George, both noted for their historical accuracy. Who knows, now that period films are back in fashion, maybe someone will option if to film and star Gwyneth Paltrow as Abigail.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you can find it, buy this book!!!, November 8, 1997

By 

Ann ([e-mail]) (Newton, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abigail (Hardcover)

I don't know how you can read one of Joan Druett's books and not want to be the character. I often wonder at the scope of it all - the huge ocean and traveling from point of land to point of land but Joan Druett brings it all to you in this story. Her name is always on my mind when I enter any bookstore looking for books.