The Pioneer

Tabby Basset is seventeen years old and lives in town of Topsham in Devon in 1885.  She is a highly skilled carpenter by trade. And she has a dream. This is a story about how absolute single mindedness and determination will pave the way to success. 

She discovers she can make and repair violins after meeting Cliffy on The Pioneer, a sailing ship bound for Holland.  She agrees to travel with the ship as a shipwright.  She learns to play the violin and after meeting and playing with the world famous violinist Hettie Carpenter her life changes completely.  She decides she wants to become a luthier and everything she chooses to do from that moment is aimed at achieving that ambition. After playing in the orchestra of a musical theatre company, and signing on with her friend Silvie as the resident band on a transatlantic liner her sheer hard work and determination finally pays off.