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COMING OF AGE ON THE HIGH SEAS "Based on her mother's trip around the world with
E. W. Scrips in 1924-25 it captures the spirit of the times.
On parallel maiden voyages, Julia and Sophia both weather
storms to emerge battered and worn, but triumphant." In Ann L. McLaughlin's third novel, Sunset at Rosalie, she fictionalized her mother's childhood on a dying cotton plantation in Mississippi at the turn of the twentieth century. In her newest novel, McLaughlin turns again to her family's past, this time inspired by her mother's travel adventures in 1924 as the personal secretary of the powerful newspaper baron and oceanographer E.W. Scripps. The result is an entertaining travel narrative, a look at the 1920s, and a moving story of a young woman who gains confidence and direction from her gruff but brilliant employer. Samuel Dawson, the Scripps-like character, hires Julia MacLean as his personal secretary just before he embarks in his new yacht for a year-long voyage around the world. Julia quickly discovers that Dawson is exasperating and egotistical, so much so that she thinks seriously of jumping ship. But she stays and becomes fascinated by his widespread interests and his worldly experience. Beyond his tyrannical ways, she finds that he is a good teacher who gives wise advice. The Sophia crosses the Atlantic, calling at Madeira, Cadiz, Palermo and other ports. She sails through the Red Sea and on to Zanzibar, Bombay, Borneo, and the Butaritari Islands. In the course of the voyage, Mr. Dawson's son dies and Julia falls in love, she thinks. There are physical and emotional storms, and the Sophia has engine trouble, but through it all the relationship between Julia and the OM (the crew's name for Mr. Dawson, the old man) deepens. She becomes his daughter as he becomes the father she has lost. Julia decides to forego marriage for a career in journalism, a career she has already begun with Mr. Dawson's help. By the end of the novel, Julia has promising work in her future and an unforgettable experience in her past. |
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Ann L. McLaughlin is the author of the highly acclaimed novels Lightning in July, The Balancing Pole, and Sunset at Rosalie. She teaches at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and lives in Chevy Chase with her husband, a history professor. |
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Maiden
Voyage a novel Ann L. McLaughlin ISBN 1-880284-38-3· 320 pages, paperback, $14.95 Publication date: November 1, 1999 For ordering information, click here or phone (800) 662-8351 |