Captain Ahab Had A Wife

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the whaling industry in New England sent hundreds of ships and thousands of men to distant seas on voyages lasting up to five years. In Captain Ahab Had a Wife, Lisa Norling taps a rich vein of sources--including women's and men's letters and diaries, shipowners' records, Quaker meeting minutes and other church records, newspapers and magazines, censuses, and city directories--to reconstruct the lives of the "Cape Horn widows" left behind onshore. Norling begins with the emergence of colonial whalefishery on the island of Nantucket and then follows the industry to mainland New Bedford in the nineteenth century, tracking the parallel shift from a patriarchal world to a more ambiguous Victorian culture of domesticity. Through the sea-wives' compelling and often poignant stories, Norling exposes the painful discrepancies between gender ideals and the reality of maritime life and documents the power of gender to shape both economic development and individual experience.

From the opening line—"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last"—you will know that you are in the hands of a master storyteller and in the company of a fascinating woman hero. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an enthralling and compellingly readable saga, spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. At once a family drama, a romantic adventure, and a portrait of a real and loving marriage, Ahab's Wife gives new perspective on the American experience. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the whaling industry in New England sent hundreds of ships and thousands of men to distant seas on voyages lasting up to five years. In Captain Ahab Had a Wife, Lisa Norling taps a rich vein of sources--including women's and men's letters and diaries, shipowners' records, Quaker meeting minutes and other church records, newspapers and magazines, censuses, and city directories--to reconstruct the lives of the "Cape Horn widows" left behind onshore. Norling begins with the emergence of colonial whalefishery on the island of Nantucket and then follows the industry to mainland New Bedford in the nineteenth century, tracking the parallel shift from a patriarchal world to a more ambiguous Victorian culture of domesticity. Through the sea-wives' compelling and often poignant stories, Norling exposes the painful discrepancies between gender ideals and the reality of maritime life and documents the power of gender to shape both economic development and individual experience.

Moby Dick és la novel·la més important de Melville. Explica l'obsessió d'un home, el capità Ahab, per matar Moby Dick, una balena en la qual veu l'encarnació del Mal. Ahab actua mogut per l'odi a l'animal que, una vegada, li va arrencar una cama. Però, per sobre del ressentiment, predomina la seva convicció que Moby Dick és un ésser malèfic que el destí ha decidit posar davant d'ell perquè el mati o perquè mori en l'intent.

Before Captain Ahab encountered Moby Dick, he met the woman who would capture his heart--Hannah Oldweiler. This voyage back to 19th Century Nantucket completes the portrait of the man who ruled the sea with an iron will, and introduces to the woman who had a spirit and determination to match. When Ahab becomes obsessed with settling a score with the great whale, Hannah is left alone to raise their son and to oversee her husband's estate. Waiting and praying for his safe return, Hannah is faced with loneliness--a deep longing in her soul that not even her husband can meet. Will Hannah become as independent as Ahab? Will she take her future into her own hands? Who will fill the emptiness in her heart? Click Here to Meet the Author Download the Readers' Guide.

A sea of danger and magic. A family that can’t stay clear of the water… Morgan refuses to let her twin brother suffer the same fate as their whale-obsessed father Captain Ahab. Despite her efforts to keep Nathan on dry land, her brother can’t resist the siren song of the sea and rumors of untold treasures on the Island of Nightmares… Before Nathan can drop anchor and find his bounty, his crew encounters an ominous force. He’s convinced the creature is somehow connected to his father’s past and that one of his crew has been bitten. Could Nathan actually be on the run from a werewhale? As the dark island fast approaches, Nathan’s adventure could end in a watery grave. It’s up to Morgan and her father’s old crewmate Ishmael to save Nathan’s life. But can she possibly change the mind of a man with the same stubborn streak as Captain Ahab? Ahab’s Daughter is the rollicking first novel in The Werewhale Saga, a series of fantasy adventures. If you like tenacious heroines, supernatural twists, and high seas suspense, then you’ll love Ron Vitale’s entertaining follow-up to Herman Melville’s literary classic.

"A gripping, heart-wrenching coming-of-age story" - Guardian In her first YA novel, Costa-shortlisted Kit de Waal responds to classic Moby Dick by tearing the power away from obsessive Captain Ahab and giving it to a teenage girl. Dinah's whole world is upside down, dead things and angry men and cuts all over her head that are beginning to sting.... Seventeen-year-old Dinah needs to leave her home, the weird commune where she grew up. She needs a whole new identity, starting with how she looks, starting with shaving off her hair, her 'crowning glory'. She has to do it quickly, because she has to go now. Dinah was going to go alone and hitch a ride down south. Except, she ends up being persuaded to illegally drive a VW campervan for hundreds of miles, accompanied by a grumpy man with one leg. This wasn't the plan. But while she's driving, Dinah will be forced to confront everything that led her here, everything that will finally show her which direction to turn... In her first YA novel, Costa-shortlisted author Kit de Waal responds to the classic Moby Dick with entirely new characters, a VW campervan, and by tearing the power away from obsessive Captain Ahab and giving it to a teenage girl who's determined to find a new life, far away from her unconventional upbringing. "An emotionally charged book" - Daily Mail "Fresh and defiantly original ... what a beautiful book" - Sarah Moore Fitzgerald "An emotional coming of age tale of escape, mission, and ultimately, self-knowledge" - The Big Issue