Out Front the Following Sea

December 1, 2021
In 1689 New England, 16-year-old orphan Ruth Miner has been branded as a witch by her fellow townspeople, but only leaves after her beloved grandmother dies. She has a moment of luck as her childhood friend, Owen Townsend, First Mate of the Primrose, sails into port and offers passage if she's willing to pay a personal price. Landing in a new town, Ruth begins again and hopes Owen will return even as the conflict between English and French loyalists heats up, dragging the pair into new dangers. Packed with historical details of daily life, which subtly increase the authentic feel of the story, first-time novelist Angstman includes information on the larger political struggles between nations, regional aggressions toward the Pequot, and conflicts between different religious cultures. Emotionally engaging characters are swept up in quick-paced dramas, keeping the surprises coming. Intricate hand-drawn maps of the area and cross-sections of the Primrose, a glossary of non-English words, and notes on historical facts and the Pequot language add to the experience. Fans of Sara Donati and Lalita Tademy may enjoy this.

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In this historical novel set in the late 17th century, a woman battles for love and her own independence. In 1689, Ruth Miner lives in Shrewsbury, a town in the East Jersey province of New England. She's uncommonly assertive for the time, and despite societal pressures, "convention escaped Ruth, and she, it." She lives in penury as an outcast in her own town; it's widely believed that she burned down her own house and murdered her parents and that she's a witch. She finally flees Shrewsbury on a ship, the Primrose, headed for Stonington, Connecticut. The vessel's first mate is Owen Townsend, her oldest friend, with whom she maintains a complicated relationship. He protects her aboard a ship populated by leering men and also harbors long-standing affection for her, which she reciprocates. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Samuel Whitlock, a powerful military figure, wants to force the Primrose into a war brewing between England and France. However, Owen is loyal to France--his mother is French, though his father, the captain of the Primrose, is English. Over the course of this novel, Angstman delicately limns the relationship between Owen and Ruth, which is fraught with tangled history but profoundly tender. She also delivers a scrupulously researched novel that's as historically rigorous as it is authentic in tone. However, the work strains too hard to present readers with lessons regarding the oppression of patriarchy that, while worthy, are executed so clumsily that they seem condescending. This is a shame, because the book has notable literary virtues, not the least of which is its sharp, witty dialogue. A historically astute novel hampered by heavy-handed moralizing.

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