Janet Coombe lives in the nineteenth-century Cornish shipping village of Porthnau. Born with a restless desire for the sea that conflicts with her domestic duties, she passes this longing down through four generations of her family. The narrative follows the Slade family across a century as they build schooners, manage the local quay, and struggle against the constraints of their rural environment. Each descendant, from Janet’s son Joseph to her great-granddaughter Jennifer, grapples with an inherited temperament that seeks freedom from the physical and emotional ties of the land.
Readers of historical family sagas find in this work a detailed study of how specific personality traits and ancestral longings persist over time. The book appeals to those interested in the maritime history of Cornwall and the practicalities of a shipbuilding community. By the end, the reader understands the cyclical nature of family identity and the specific ways a shared geographic location shapes the lives of those who stay and those who leave. It offers a clear view of how an individual’s internal drive can dictate the fortunes of an entire lineage.
- Published
- 1931
- Language
- EN
