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The River Queen: A Memoir

by Mary Morris

The River Queen: A Memoir Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

This story of a middle-aged woman's odyssey down the Mississippi River is a funny, beautifully written, and poignant tale of a journey that transforms a life

In fall 2005 acclaimed travel writer Mary Morris set off down the Mississippi in a battered old houseboat called the River Queen, with two river rats named Tom and Jerry--and a rat terrier, named Samantha Jean, who hated her. It was a time of emotional turmoil for Morris. Her father had just died; her daughter was leaving home; life was changing all around her. It was then she decided to return to the Midwest where she was from, to the river she remembered, where her father had played jazz piano in tiny towns.

Morris describes living like a pirate and surviving a tornado. Because of Katrina, oil prices, and drought, the river was often empty--a ghost river--and Morris experienced it as Joliet and Marquette had four hundred years earlier. As she learned to pilot her beloved River Queen without running aground and made peace with Samantha Jean, Morris got her groove back, reconnecting to her past. More important, she came away with her best book, a bittersweet travel tale told in the very real voice of a smart, sad, funny, gutsy, and absolutely appealing woman.

Synopsis:

In the fall of 2005 acclaimed writer Mary Morris set off down the Mississippi River in a battered old houseboat called The River Queen, with two river rats named Tom and Jerry and an ailing, irascible rat terrier named Samantha Jean. Her father had just died. Her daughter had gone off to college. Lost and uncertain, Morris returned to the river of her youth, to the waterside towns where her father had once lived. In this poignant and often humorous memoir, Morris reclaims the world of her childhood as she gets a bearing on her future. She describes traveling down stream through the Midwest, living like a pirate as she survives a tornado and infestation of mayflies, bivouacs on beaches, and ties up to paddleboats in the dark of night. As she learns to pilot the River Queen through these fabled waters, Morris delivers a memoir that “deserves to be both a best-seller and a classic” (The Courier-Journal).

About the Author

MARY MORRIS is the author of the travel memoirs Nothing to Declare, Wall to Wall, and Angels and Aliens, along with six novels and three collections of short stories. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780312427894
Subtitle:
A Memoir
Author:
Morris, Mary
Publisher:
Picador
Subject:
Essays & Travelogues
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Travelers
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Novelists, American
Subject:
Description and travel
Subject:
Travel
Subject:
Novelists, American -- 20th century.
Subject:
Mississippi River Description and travel.
Subject:
General Travel
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
Travelogues
Copyright:
Edition Description:
First
Publication Date:
20080527
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
288
Dimensions:
8.5 x 5.5 x 0.644 in

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Related Subjects

Biography » General
Biography » Women
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Biography » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Travel » Travel Writing » General
Transportation » Nautical » Nautical Lore

The River Queen: A Memoir Sale Trade Paper
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Product details 288 pages Picador USA - English 9780312427894 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by ,

In the fall of 2005 acclaimed writer Mary Morris set off down the Mississippi River in a battered old houseboat called The River Queen, with two river rats named Tom and Jerry and an ailing, irascible rat terrier named Samantha Jean. Her father had just died. Her daughter had gone off to college. Lost and uncertain, Morris returned to the river of her youth, to the waterside towns where her father had once lived. In this poignant and often humorous memoir, Morris reclaims the world of her childhood as she gets a bearing on her future. She describes traveling down stream through the Midwest, living like a pirate as she survives a tornado and infestation of mayflies, bivouacs on beaches, and ties up to paddleboats in the dark of night. As she learns to pilot the River Queen through these fabled waters, Morris delivers a memoir that “deserves to be both a best-seller and a classic” (The Courier-Journal).

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