Star of the Sea
A Novel
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3.9 • 19 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Notable Book and “thoroughly gripping” historical mystery: On a ship packed with Irish immigrants, one passenger is a killer (People).
In the bitter winter of 1847, leaving an Ireland torn by famine and injustice, the Star of the Sea sets sail for New York. On board are hundreds of refugees, some of them optimistic, many more of them desperate. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt Lord Merridith accompanied by his wife and children—and a killer stalking the decks, hungry for the vengeance that will bring absolution.
This journey will see many lives end, while others begin anew. Passionate loves are tenderly recalled, shirked responsibilities regretted too late, and profound relationships shockingly revealed. In this spellbinding tale of tragedy and mercy, love and healing, the farther the ship sails toward the Promised Land, the more her passengers seem moored to a past that will never let them go.
“O’Connor’s luscious book brews the suspense of a thriller with the scope and passion of a Victorian novel—seasoned in authentic historical detail and served up in language that is equal parts lyrical and gritty.” —Booklist
“Engrossing . . . will hold historical fiction fans rapt.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in the U.K. and shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year, this brooding new historical fiction by novelist, playwright and critic O'Connor (Cowboys and Indians) chronicles the mayhem aboard Star of the Sea, a leaky old sailing ship crossing from Ireland to New York during the bitter winter of 1847, its steerage crammed to the bulkheads with diseased and starving refugees from the Irish potato famine. The novel takes the form of a personal account written by passenger G. Grantley Dixon, a New York Times reporter who intersperses his narrative with reportage and interviews as he describes the intrigue that unfolds during the 26-day journey. There's Pius Mulvey, "a sticklike limping man from Connemara" known to the passengers as "the monster" or "the ghost," who shuffles menacingly around the ship and is the subject of many a rumor. There's Earl David Merridith of Kingscourt, one of the few passengers in first class, who has evicted thousands of his tenants for nonpayment of rent, dooming them and their families to almost certain death by starvation. Also aboard is the young widow, Mary Duane, a nanny for the Kingscourt children who shares a history of intimacies with both Kingscourt and Mulvey. And there is, of course, Kingscourt's wife, with whom Dixon is having an ill-advised affair. One of these passengers is on a mission to commit murder, and another is the fated victim. Through flashbacks, the complicated narrative paints a vivid picture of the rigors of life in Ireland in the mid-19th century. The engrossing, well-structured tale will hold historical fiction fans rapt. 4-city author tour.
Customer Reviews
Star of the Sea
Fabulous sad story of people caught in Great Famine forced to leave on cofffin ships