In the Great Days of Sail 14 Sea Stories

by MacMechan, Achibald

• ISBN13: 9781551098210
• ISBN10: 1551098210
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-16
• Publisher: Nimbus Publishing

Summary

Archibald MacMechan revelled in the tales of worldwide adventure, pirates, storms, fires, rescues, and tragedies. MacMechan's collections, all popular successes in their day, have been out of print for several years. Now In the Great Days of Sail brings fourteen stories together for a new generation of readers. Edited and with an introduction by Halifax author Elizabeth Peirce, the book displays the very best of this master chronicler's work. MacMechan's stories reflect the pride Nova Scotians took in locally built ships, and the legendary tenacity of the captains and crew who sailed them. Among others, we encounter George Churchill of Lunenburg, who had to rebuild his rudder eight times during a voyage from Quebec to Scotland, Captain Samuel Bancroft Davis of Yarmouth, who dreamed the precise latitude and longitude of a distressed ship before steering off his coarse to rescue it, and a routine trip from LaHave to Halifax that made an unplanned detour all the way to London.

Author Biography

MacMechan's collections, ail popular successes in their day, have been out of print for several years. Now In the Great Days of Sail brings fourteen stories together for a new generation of readers. Edited and with an introduction by Halifax author Elizabeth Peirce, the book displays the very best of this master chronicler's work. Archibald MacMechan (1862-1933) was a writer, literary scholar, and professor at Dalhousie University. MacMechan collected stories from captains, crew members, shipbuilders, and their families, which he published in_ 'three collections: Old Province Tales, 'Sagas of the Sea, and There Go the Ships. In 1932 he was awarded the Lome Pierce medal by the Royal Society of Canada for his distinguished service to Canadian literature: Elizabeth Peirce is a writer and English professor who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the author and co-author of three previous books: Grow Organic, Saladin; Piracy, Mutiny and Murder On the High Seas, and The Pirate Rebel.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. IX
A Faithful Chronicler: The Life and Work of Archibald MacMechan
The Captains Boat	p. 1
At the Harbour Mouth	p. 19
The First Mate	p. 31
A Vision of the Night	p. 49
Jordan the Pirate	p. 57
The Wave	p. 69
Via London	p. 77
The Saladin Pirates	p. 89
The Saga of "Rudder"-Churchill	p. 107
The Glory of the Shannon	p. 127
The Sarah Stands By	p. 141
The Captains Wife	p. 165
The Lunenburg Way	p. 175
The Shell	p. 183
The Ballad of the Rover	p. 191
Notes on Sources	p. 195
Notes on Images	p. 199
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.