A Fair Wind Home

by Ruth Moore

A Fair Wind Home is Ruth Moore's well-crafted version of a historical novel. Based in eighteenth century Boston Harbor, this book tells the story of the salty pirate Jake Ringgold and the woman who bests him, Lizabeth. The rest of the Ellis family also meets their various destinies--both tragic and joyful--through a series of emotional challenges. Ruth Moore offers a story packed with historical significance, a lovely cast of characters, and a fast-paced plot characteristic of her writing.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

243 pages

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Ruth Moore (1903–1989) was an important Maine author of the twentieth century. She is best known for her honest portrayals of Maine people and evocative descriptions of the state. Now primarily thought of as a regional writer, Moore was a significant literary figure on the national stage during her career. Her second novel Spoonhandle spent fourteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the company of George Orwell, W. Somerset Maugham and Robert Penn Warren. In her time, Moore was hailed as "New England's only answer to Faulkner".

In 1940 Ruth met Eleanor Mayo, an aspiring writer also from Maine, and the two soon became a couple. They returned to New York where Ruth got a job with The Readers Digest while writing her first novel, The Weir, which was published in 1943.

Reviews

[Tweety · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to rate this; one minute it was five stars and the next barely two.

This is the story of how one pirate, mentioned in song in Candlemas Bay, changes the lives of the family of Ellises. That family of four children with their widowed mother, also change the lives of two men.The two girls, Betsy and Caroline are orphans and the others, Nate and Ed are the stubborn sons of Lisbeth.

Nate takes after his mother Lisbeth in that he doesn't think about how others feel or their opinion, but like his father in that he likes tools. Even in the worst of the storm Nate loves his family, and all I can think is that he was in love with a summer memory because By George, some of his family deserved to swing.

Lisbeth was someone who made me grit my teeth every time she spoke. And yet, I think at one time before she landed herself with a boring, distant husband, she must have been charming. But being with him made her tongue sharp and her heart cold. And that's what I loved her second husband, Frankie.

Frank took one look at Lisbeth and thought she was someone he could like, then she opened her mouth and took him by storm with her acid. But Frank wasn't going to be put off. I was amazed at the change he brought over her, just by treating her as a human, with feelings and thoughts. Frank was someone who loved his grub, but he would wait to eat, saying he wouldn't till they sorted themselves out, (or till she felt better anyway).

Ed, I can only say that I detested him. His treatment of his mother, siblings and others was disgraceful. I'm not saying his mother wasn't party to blame for his not caring about her, since she was all vinegar.

Do I recommend this? Not really, it wasn't good enough for me to praise it to my friends or dull enough for me to say I hated it. Just mediocre.

One last think, I didn't find the characters wooden, sometimes cold, but still alive.
PG
One couple has a common law marriage as no one would marry them, since the woman is dressed in mens pants. It's mentioned that Lisbeth and her husbands have sex, but it is all behind closed doors. In fact, her second husband refused to touch her unless she invited him to, because her first husband had not considered her feelings and she wasn't really a person in that man's eyes. We have a sprinkling of swears: Ds, Hs, Bs and one or two As. (I got tired of the Ds, I think they were way over done) I almost got my whiteout out but, then looked at how short it was and didn't feel like wasting it on this book. I won't be lending it anyway.

[Alice Persons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. To use an old fashioned compliment, it was a corking good story. Very plotty and interesting characters. It's hard to write an historical novel that engages me and this one did.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.

[Dawn Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had an eye out for another book by Ruth Moore ever since reading her earlier novel, The Weir thirty years ago. She did such a delightful job of capturing Maine colloquial language that I never quite forgot her until now, when I found this semi-historical novel at the local thrift. It wasn't quite up to my memory/expectation but it was an entertaining read with wholesome old-fashioned values. It was a nice reprieve from the shocking language of recent modern reads.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Moore is a recent discovery for me. She is a Maine author (from Gotts island, I believe) and I am impressed with her ability to take me into her world. This book is a bit different from her others but no less excellent. These are no pot-boilers and you’ll not even find anything PG rated in Ms Moore’s work. But don’t let her lack of flash deter you — her work is tight and beautiful, as evidenced by its ability to stand the test of time.

[Virginia Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written historic story of life along the New England coast. The storyline has twists and turns that keep the reader interested

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book by this author that I have read. This one was quite a dissappointment compared to "The Fire Balloon". The characters were wooden and the plot was slow.

[Terese Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal and accurate, if any characters seem wooden, that would be from necessity. Not an easy time or place to have lived.