Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780595132973
ISBN number: 0595132979
Label: iUniverse
Manufacturer: iUniverse
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 420
Printing Date: 2000-11
Publishing house: iUniverse
Sale Popularity Level: 1892524
Studio: iUniverse
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Product Description:
Born at sea and raised in early nineteenth-century New Zealand, strong-willed Abigail Sherman is the daughter of the American owner of a shore-whaling station. Trouble with the English authorities prompts Captain Sherman to set Abigail on board a ship bound for Massachusetts, at the start of a series of hair-raising adventures that shifts from vicious mutinies to storms off Cape Horn, to encounters with militant women’s rightists, to a murder trial in New Bedford.
Teased by a cryptic riddle that promises a fortune, and shocked by news of her father’s brutal assassination, Abigail escapes her puritanical relatives and heads back to New Zealand, determined to claim the ship that is her rightful inheritance. It is a turbulent expedition, in which she crosses paths with gamblers, fortune-hunters, and opportunistic whaling captains, and survives the savage jungles of Panama and the dangerous alleyways of the ports of Chile and Peru, finally to meet the ultimate challenge of treachery in the South Pacific.
Here, Joan Druett, the author of twelve popular maritime books, has created a novel of compulsive readability. Superbly researched, the story of Abigail confirms the reputation of a widely acclaimed spinner of tales of the sea.
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Rated by buyers 
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For those of you who enjoy a historical novel this is a great read. Set in NZ about the turn of the 19th century it tells the story of the daughter of a whaling Captain.
It has gripping descriptions of whaling practises and life aboard a whale boat yet at the same time there is a very warm,human story of this young girls loves and life.I found Abigail hard to put down once i had started reading and can throughly recommend it.
Rated by buyers 
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What a disappointment! I expected an adventure story with a headstrong, female protagonist with a mystery looming on the horizon. What do I buy? An adventure stor with a headstrong, female protagonist with a mystery looming on the horizon THAT IS SOLVED BY HER HUSBAND. Plus, how could Abigail fall in love with a man who has a terrible, ugly lust for her body? He never loved her, never grows to love her, yet she changes and becomes a model wife. It was sickening. Don't read it!
Rated by buyers -
Whales breach, harpoons fly, blubber melts, canvas fills, sailors chant, and action abounds as Druett explains the complicated and fascinating business of whaling through the life of the title character, a young woman born aboard a ship involved in that dangerous, bloody, smoky maritime enterprise. The action travels from the wilds of Mongonui, New Zealand,(where Abigail and her father live and her father hopes to make his fortune) to the far more sedate and civilized New Bedford, Massachusetts, then center for one of the 19th century's most lucrative businesses. If murder, mystery, and mayhem weren't enough, this fascinating tale pulses with period detail as well. Written by the author of the very well-received Hen Frigates (named as one of the New York Public Library's "Books to Remember 1999"), Abigail was very first released in hard cover by Random House in 1988, then again in paper by Bantam, both editions with covers that made them look like real bodice-rippers, which the book most certainly is not. Some enterprising publisher ought to option Abigail, out-of-print for several years now and release it in a nice trade paper edition sans the sensational covers. The book belongs in the genre of fine historical fiction, as in the writings of Iain Pears and Margaret George, both noted for their historical accuracy. Who knows, now that period films are back in fashion, maybe someone will option if to film and star Gwyneth Paltrow as Abigail.
Rated by buyers -
I picked up this book recently and couldn't bear to put it down. I'm disappointed that I'm done with it! The characters were believable and interesting. They were an intrinsic part of a solid, suspenseful tale told at an exciting pace. The wealth of fascinating, historically accurate detail about the whaling industry in the early 1820s was woven artfully throughout the story. Ms. Druett does a great job of twisting the plot, so just when you think you know what's going to happen...it doesn't. A wonderful read! Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers -
If there is any tiny particle in you that responds to the romance of tall ships, this book will find it. Abigail is a lovable, impulsive girl who makes me recall my own experiences and feelings at her age. I fell a bit in love with her handsome, ethical, yet exasperating sea captain, Seth, myself, but then aren't most men exasperating? I found this novel full of characters and plotlines that really held my interest. The vivid and authoritative accounts of life aboard a whaling ship in the 19th century were perhaps the best thing about this book. I highly recommend it.
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