The Lightkeeper [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Wiggs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Lighthouse keeper Jesse Morgan''s reclusive l ife is changed forever when he finds Mary Dare washed up on the shore one morning- unconscious and pregnant. She''s keepi ng a secret - one that puts them both in terrible danger. '

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When his pregnant wife dies in a shipwreck, Jesse Morgan gives up his wealth and place in Seattle society. He relegates himself to a tiny community where he dedicates his life to protecting others from the ocean. As keeper of a remote lighthouse along a dangerous coast in the Pacific Northwest, Jesse rejects all social contact so that he can brood about his loss. When the sea tosses up a beautiful pregnant woman, the lone survivor of another shipwreck, Jesse finds he has a second chance at life and love. Mary Dare is an outspoken Irish woman who takes poverty, single motherhood, and death in stride. She brings vitality, passion, and joy to Jesse's life and forces him to face his guilt and unhappiness. Mary's honesty and compassion transform Jesse, and together they find beauty in a simple life.

Review

Susan Wiggs' The Lightkeeper displays love as one of the truly painful elements of human life. With brooding characters and a chilled plot, sympathy is rather hard to come by. The sharp edges of the hero are almost brutal in contrast with the beautiful scenery. However, the heroine's own mix of softness and aggressiveness makes her a very tangible center of the story. Jesse Morgan is a lighthouse keeper. He is a loner, relishing in the guilt he feels over his first wife's death. When he rescues Mary Dare, a beautiful Irish woman, from certain death on his beach, the die is cast - his life has changed. It has to be fate. The vital element of this story - well, Mary is pregnant. To make things really tragic for our lovebirds, Mary is pregnant by Jesse's brother-in-law. Mary tells of escaping Granger so she can keep her baby. Granger's plan is to take the baby and give it to his barren wife, Jesse's sister. In an effort to protect Mary and the baby, Jesse decides to marry her. Not for love, he tells himself, but to keep her safe. For all its soap-opera-ish plotwork, The Lightkeeper does show how love grows, often painfully, between two people who seem so desperately separated from each other. The addition of the baby to the scenario opens a new window of compassion in Jesse's heart. There are scenes between Jesse and the baby that are almost enough to bring tears to the eyes. The Lightkeeper is riddled with grief, betrayal, guilt, and anguish - almost to the point of drowning the poor lovers in the sea of emotion that surrounds them. However, to be completely fair, it is love that lies at the very soul of the plot. Although the plot is abrasive at times, the growth of the characters, in particular Jesse, is remarkable as the story progresses. So it comes to this - remember the lighthouse and the beam it delivers across the water; see it as the defining element of the story. It will guide the lovers to each other....it just takes time. The Lightkeeper is a tale of love searching through a sea of troubled emotions. The beautiful lighthouse on the cliff, putting it's beam out to guide ships - a true metaphor for Mary and the love she holds out to Jesse. Painful and dramatic. A cruel way to look at the love between two people, but a wonderful way to watch it grow.Karen Ellington -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 377 pages
• Publisher: Mira Books (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551663015
• ISBN-13: 978-1551663012
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

When her recent novel, FIRESIDE, hit #1 on the New York Times, the author reportedly reacted to the news by "putting on my lipstick and sweeping the patio." Why? Because she knew that within a matter of minutes, her girlfriends would show up to pop the bubbly and help her celebrate. [Update: FIRESIDE has been chosen of one of Amazon.com's Top Ten Romances of 2009.]

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. Her books make frequent appearances on Amazon's "best of" lists. Several of her novels have been listed as Indie Next picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, April 11, 2002

By 

Chris Cummings (OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lightkeeper (Mass Market Paperback)

In purchasing this book, I paid more than I typically do for a novel, but it was worth every penny!

Mary, pregnant and unwed, washes ashore after a tragic boat crash. Though she considers herself "damaged goods" and has, as an Irish immigrant, suffered cruel and prejudicial attitudes, she's a very charming and lovable character, bursting with life and love and vitality.

Jesse, the reclusive lighthouse keeper of Cape Disappointment, finds himself a reluctant savior to Mary when he rescues her on the shore of Cape Disappointment. Jesse's pregnant wife died 11 years ago, and he has held himself, solely, to blame ever since, abandoning a carefree life of privilege and high society for a lonely monk's existence, deprived of any joy or human contact, as, for penance, he keeps watch, nightly, over the ocean which took everything from him.

Embittered, hardened, and self-loathing, Jesse's character is very deeply tortured (puts me in mind of Jane Eyre's Rochester) and fights desperately against the flame that Mary's unexpected presence in his life is rekindling within his heart while she recuperates in his home.

Jesse avoids Mary, but she seeks him out; he tries to put her off with his scowls and harsh words, but she continues to draw out the kind and loving man lurking beneath the surface against his will. Slowly, her companionship, affection, and love begin to thaw the heart he has deliberately frozen and hardened over so many years, and it terrifies him.

This book was so beautifully written and so very deeply touching and filled with such raw, human emotion, passion and desire, I still find myself reflecting on it, days after I've read it. I found myself rooting for Mary and Jesse from the beginning and still cheering for them in the end. Fantastic!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Americana romance by the genre's brightest star, August 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lightkeeper (Mass Market Paperback)

In 1876 at the mouth of the Columbia River in the Washington Territory, lighthouse keeper Jesse Morgan notices a body has been washed ashore. When he reaches the beach, he realizes that the person is alive and pregnant. He takes her inside his home where his assistants tell him that he must watch over her as part of Law of the Sea. Jesse, who lost his spouse to the sea, prefers to be alone, but apparently is stuck for awhile with the injured woman. When she regains full consciousness, she tells him that her name is Mary Dare, that she is all alone in the world, and she was a stowaway on the ship that just sunk.

There is obviously a man in Mary's life, who will come for her. To Jesse's chagrin that man turns out to be his former business partner, Granger Clapp, who is also married to Jesse's sister. Jesse, who wanted no woman in his life, is now deeply in love with Mary, who returns the feelings. However, can Jesse risk living again by reaching out to Mary? If he does, the couple still must deal with Clapp before they can find happiness together.

Susan Wiggs can always be relied upon to provide an exciting historical romance that adds luster to the sub-genre. All the characters are well written, but especially interesting are the local townsfolk (think Northern Exposure). The story line is a fast-paced intrigue cocooned in a nineteenth century Americana back drop. THE LIGHTKEEPER is a novel that will illuminate the darkest night.

Harriet Klausner

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will be reissued in March 2002, August 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lightkeeper (Mass Market Paperback)

This isn't exactly a review (what can I say? I love this book!) but a special note to readers. First of all, thanks to everyone who has written to me about this book. I'm so sorry you've had a hard time finding a copy! The good news: I'm delighted to report that it will be back in print in a few months, complete with new cover art (gorgeous). The isbn is 1-55166-880-7, and I believe the cover price will still be $..., thanks to my very excellent publisher. There's a complete, up-to-date listing of all my books at my web site, www.susanwiggs.com. Thanks again, Susan Wiggs, author of THE LIGHTKEEPER