by Lois Lenski
First published 2020
Mary Wilson is born aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic in 1720. Her Scottish and Irish parents seek a new life in America when pirates attack their vessel. The pirate captain discovers the newborn infant and feels moved by the sight. He gives the child her name and spares the passengers. The ship continues its journey to New Hampshire. Mary grows up in Portsmouth and the surrounding countryside during the early 1700s. The community calls her Ocean-Born Mary because of her unusual birth. She must navigate life in colonial America while carrying the story of her dramatic beginning. Her legend spreads through New England as she faces the challenges of frontier life. The tale explores how one extraordinary birth shapes a woman's entire existence in pre-Revolutionary America.
Genres: historical, historical-fiction, american, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: extraordinary-birth, fish-out-of-water, legend
Setting: America, New Hampshire, Portsmouth, Atlantic Ocean
Period: 1720, Early 1700s, Pre-Revolutionary
388 pages · Paperback · Purple House Press