ABOUT
THE BOOK

This is destined to be remembered as one of the most recognised first sentences in literature – along with “Call me Ishmael.” And Una Spenser, the triumphant hero at the center of Ahab’s Wife, may well become every bit as memorable as Ahab. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an entirely new universe – a vast, enthralling, and compellingly readable saga, spanning a full, rich, eventful, and dramatic life. In the “soprano voice” whose absence critics lamented in Moby-Dick – the strong, intelligent voice of a woman whose life is dominated by the sea – Naslund tells many stories.

She narrates a family drama, as the child Una is sent away to live in a lighthouse by her mother in order to protect her from the physical and emotional blows of her religion-mad father. She spins a romantic adventure, as Una finds early passion with a sailor and, disguised as a cabin boy, runs away to sea to encounter disasters, murder, romance of virtually every variety, and, of course, the behemoths of the deep. She paints a portrait of a real, loving marriage, as through Una’s eyes we see Ahab before the white whale takes his leg and sends him into madness.

Finally, she gives us a new perspective on the American experience, as the widowed Una makes a new life for herself in the company of Margaret Fuller, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and others. Sena Jeter Naslund has thoroughly imbibed the spirit of Herman Melville, and that spirit permeates every page of her novel. But great as her debt to Melville may be, Ahab’s Wife stands alone, intact, and vital for any reader.