Synopses & Reviews
Patricia Kelley has been raised a proper British lady but she's become a stowaway. Her father is dead, and her future in peril. To claim the estate that is rightfully hers, she must travel across the seas to Barbados, hidden in the belly of merchant ship.
It is a daring escapade, and the plan works for a time. But before she knows it, Patricia's secret is revealed, and she is torn between two worlds. During the day, she wears petticoats, inhabits the dignified realm of ship's officers, and trains as a surgeon's mate with the gentle Aeneas MacPherson; at night she dons pants and climbs the rigging in the rough company of sailors. And it is there, alongside boson's mate John Dalton, that she feels stunningly alive.
In this mesmerizing novel of daring, adventure, tragedy, and romance, Patricia must cross the threshold between night and day, lady and surgeon, and even woman and man. She must be bold in ways beyond her wildest dreams and take risks she never imagined possible. And she must fight for her life and her love.
Review
"Historical details are smoothly woven into the story, and a historical note and bibliography are appended." School Library Journal
Review
"Collison's research shows not just in the appended author's note and the glossary but also in details of mid-eighteenth-century birth control and life as a ship's surgeon. Told in the first person, this seafaring saga features a heroine who longs for both independence and love." Booklist
Review
"The convoluted plot in this eighteenth-century soap-opera adventure throws in a few too many tragedies, but readers are sure to enjoy the feisty character Collison has created." Hornbook Guide to Children
Review
"A map, glossary of nautical terms, plus a list of sources should aid the reader, not only in a clear understanding of life aboard ship, but also by providing opportunities for further reading or research. Definitely recommended!" Children's Literature
Review
"Collison...pens her first novel with an ear for wonderfully dynamic dialogue, an insistence on thorough research, and the heart of one who cares about issues timelessly important to women, from birth control to self-reliance." VOYA
Review
"Collison's work with an understanding of what it meant to be a woman in those times, and with an experience of living on board a British ship and a fearsome understanding of the deadly diseases like yellow fever, which were prevalent in the Caribbean." KLIATT
Synopsis
Having been discovered as a stowaway as she tries to reach Barbados in 1760 to claim her father's estate, teenaged English orphan Patricia Kelley struggles to survive by learning to be a ship's doctor and by disguising herself as a man when necessary. Includes glossary of nautical terms.Having been discovered as a stowaway as she tries to reach Barbados in 1760 to claim her father's estate, teenaged English orphan Patricia Kelley struggles to survive by learning to be a ship's doctor and by disguising herself as a man when necessary.
About the Author
Linda Collison is a former nurse who has sailed many thousands of miles on her sloop, Topaz, and who served three weeks as crew aboard the Endeavor, a replica of Captain James Cook's eighteenth century ship. This is her first novel. The author lives in Kamuela, Hawaii.