Silas Crockett traces life on the Maine coast through four generations of a seafaring family, and recounts the sweeping changes that took place on the Maine coast during the 19th and early 20th centuries. From the era of clipper ships through Grand Banks fishing, to the arrival of summer residents, this is a 100-year epic filled with vibrant descriptions of the sweeping cultural, economic, and philosophical changes that washed over Maine.
Mary Ellen Chase weaves wonderful historical detail with engaging characters so readers understand what it was like for a young wife to join her husband on a months-long trade voyage in 1830; for a small boy to yearn for the attention of his mother, herself a grieving widow; and for a man raised in the tradition of seafaring forced to choose between leaving home for a long voyage or undertaking a risky, but shorter and more lucrative one. Chase draws her characters sharply and provides a voice to the everyday concerns and cares of people who lived and died by the sea. Written in 1935, Silas Crockett remains an important piece of literature for anyone who wishes to understand the rich maritime history of Maine.
By offering superior historical detail, authenticity, and great writing, Chase’s classic novel is considered one of the most distinguished books in Maine history.
Silas Crockett
Written by Mary Ellen Chase
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction
Ages: All
ISBN: 978-0-9671662-2-3
Publication Date: 2003
Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.99
Shipping Weight: 0.94 lbs.
Mary Ellen Chase (1887-1973) was born and raised in Blue Hill, Maine. She graduated from the University of Maine and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota before serving thirty years as a leading faculty member at Smith College in Massachusetts. She wrote more than thirty books, many using her cherished Maine heritage as the setting, capturing the unique spirit and chronicling a way of life for generations. Her three most important novels set in Maine were Mary Peters (1934), Silas Crockett (1935), and Windswept (1941). Windswept was a national bestseller and the most successful book of Chase’s writing career.
In addition to fiction, Chase wrote three autobiographical works that detail her background and early experiences: A Goodly Heritage (1932), A Goodly Fellowship (1939), and The White Gate: Adventures in the Imagination of a Child (1954).
In a 1936 interview in the Portland Sunday Telegram, Chase declared that she wrote “largely because I want to acquaint others with the background of Maine life, with the splendid character of Maine people, and with the unsurpassed loveliness of Maine fields, shores, and sea.”
