A well-developed novel that uses copious historical sources to vividly bring its characters and setting to life.
In Elder’s debut historical novel, a young sea captain and his wife make a go of it during the Great Age of Sail in the 19th century.
James Jenkins was raised on a farm in Barnstable, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He catches sea fever early, signing onto a voyage in 1844 when he’s barely in his teens. By 23, he’s a captain, and he falls in love with another captain’s daughter, Ruth Fish, and she with him. The key theme of the novel is how sailors reckon with the pull of the sea and how their jobs separate them for months or years from their wives and children, who usually stay home in Barnstable (or New Bedford, or Salem, or Mystic); these are ports where “the world washed ashore every day and well-made plans washed out with the tide.” James and Ruth marry in 1860, and their daughter, Minnie, is born the next year, while James is at sea. In a rarity for the times, Ruth leaves Minnie with her parents and joins James in 1863 on his next long voyage. She takes to the sea with her spouse again three years later, along with Minnie, to the child’s delight. All through this, James and Ruth remain faithful and in love; finally, James realizes that it’s time to quit the sea for good. His ship, the Hoogly, is being retired, and an era of sailing is drawing to a close. Elder’s husband is a descendant of James and Ruth Jenkins, and she discovered a treasure trove of diaries, letters, and other wonderful source material that she puts to good use here. She also includes a nautical glossary and notes on sources in the back matter, among other riches. Along with this family story, readers get a solid background on the times, with mentions of Walt Whitman’s poetry and that new novel, Moby-Dick; the debut of the New York Times; and the agony of the Civil War, as one major character loses a loved one.
A well-developed novel that uses copious historical sources to vividly bring its characters and setting to life.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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