Ahab's wife, or, The star-gazer : a novel

Ahab's Wife is a breathtaking, magnificent, and uplifting story of one woman's spiritual journey, informed by the spirit of the greatest American novel, but taking it beyond tragedy to redemptive triumph. Sena Jeter Naslund has created an entirely new universe with a transcendent heroine at its centre."A complex and sophisticated book, brilliantly written, beautifully illustrated." - BooklistFrom 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 tour de force does not attain its model's literary genius, but nevertheless it is a whale of a read. Recommended for all fiction collections." - Library JournalAhab's Wife is a novel on a grand scale that can legitimately be called a masterpiece: beautifully written, filled with humanity and wisdom, rich in historical detail, authentic and evocative. "Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an entirely new universe. In the "soprano voice" whose absence critics lamented in Moby-Dick - the strong, intelligent voice of a woman whose life is dominated by the sea - Naslund tells many stories. She narrates a family drama, as the child Una is sent away to live in a lighthouse by her mother in order to protect her from the physical and emotional blows of her religion-mad father. She spins a romantic adventure, as Una finds early passion with a sailor and, disguised as a cabin boy, runs away to sea to encounter disasters, murder, romance of virtually every variety, and, of course, the behemoths of the deep. She paints a portrait of a real, loving marriage, as through Una's eyes we see Ahab before the white whale takes his leg and sends him into madness. Finally, she gives us a new perspective on the American experience, as the widowed Una makes a new life for herself in the company of Margaret Fuller, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and others."--BOOK JACKET. E-Book extras: ONE: An Interview with Sena Jeter Naslund: "The Ship of My Book"; TWO: Author's Note: "The Surprise and Pleasure of It"; THREE: Reading Group Guide: Discussion Points. The famous international bestseller is now a special-features-packed e-book. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an entirely new universe -- an epic-scale, enthralling, and deliciously readable saga, spanning the full, rich, eventful, and dramatic life of one Una Spenser, for whom "Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last." Illustrated throughout by world-renowned artist Christopher Wormell. The adventures of Una Spenser who went to sea disguised as a cabin boy. Shipwrecked, she marries one of the survivors, then falls in love with Captain Ahab, a man obsessed with a white whale. She becomes involved in fighting slavery and in women's rights A novel inspired by Herman Melville's Moby Dick chronicles the life of Una Spenser, wife of the immortal Captain Ahab, from her Kentucky childhood, through her adventures disguised as a whaling ship cabin boy, to her various marriages