The captain
and his wife were asleep in each other’s arms. She, new to the watery world,
slept lightly; her husband, seasoned and driven to exhaustion the last two days
and nights by the perils of a gale that shipped sea after sea over the bow of
his heavily loaded vessel, had plunged into a slumber as profound as the now
tranquil ocean beneath him. As his wife turned in her sleep, wrapping her arms
loosely about his waist and resting her cheek against the warm flesh of his
shoulder, in some half-conscious chamber of her dreaming brain she heard the
ship’s clock strike six bells. The cook would be stirring, the night watch
rubbing their eyes and turning their noses toward the forecastle, testing the
air for the first scent of their morning coffee.
Told in a variety of ways and through a variety of
voices, The Ghost of the Mary Celeste deals with the true story of the mysterious disappearance
of an American merchant vessel in the 1870s, and how it affects a number of
characters… including one Arthur Conan Doyle. Both using more traditional
narratives interspersed with diary entries and newspaper cuttings, the novel
takes us into the literary society of the nineteenth century, as well as into
the world of spiritualists. Different characters bring different elements to the
mystery, gradually ramping up the tension to an unforgettable climax aboard the
Mary Celeste herself.
The Ghost of the Mary Celeste had me at ghost story
and Arthur Conan Doyle to be honest, but it was not at all what I had been
expecting. By turns a tragic love story, a journalistic investigation and a
historical mystery, the novel transcended my expectations in more ways than
one. Although some sections were more interesting than others, and some
characters caught my attention to varying degrees, the novel itself kept me up
reading to see how the intricate elements all fitted together.
As a ghost story, The Ghost of the Mary Celeste has
some chilling moments, though they are not at all the focus of the novel
(despite what the title might seem to indicate). At the same time, although the
mystery of what happened to the Mary Celeste is central to the characters, it
is not as central to the story nor to the denouement. Although you do get
answers at the end, they might not be the answers you are expecting and they
probably don’t deal with the questions you thought they would. No, what makes
The Ghost of the Mary Celeste work is seeing the effect that the mystery has on
the characters, especially the tragic Violet and Sir Conan Doyle himself.
Weaving throughout his life at key moments, the Mary Celeste effects the writer
moreso perhaps than many of the other characters, providing him with
inspiration but also forcing him to face some difficult questions about his own
convictions.
The ending is low-key but beautiful, a true love story
for the ages that raises more questions than it answers. Of course, one key
question is left up to your imagination, which may frustrate some. For me,
though, it was a perfect grace note to the story that was never as much about
the Mary Celeste as it tries to make us believe.
A complex puzzle box of mystery, love, tragedy,
spiritualism and inspiration, The Ghost of the Mary Celeste is a very good
read. I for one look forward to reading some more of the author’s historical novels,
including the well-known Mary Reilly. I give this 4 Giant Rats of Sumatra out
of 5.
From the Blogosphere:
The Lost Entwife
Reading the Past
Nomad Reader
From the Author’s Mouth:
Youtube Video
The Lost Entwife
Reading the Past
Nomad Reader
From the Author’s Mouth:
Youtube Video
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