Pirates and Privateers

‘Hen Frigates’ is a derisive name given to vessels where the masters of merchant ships bring along their wives during the 19th century. Abby Morrell’s account is one of the first of these narratives and concerns a three-year voyage that takes her from New York to the South Pacific. She marries Benjamin Morrell, a cousin, in 1824 at the age of fifteen. Three weeks later, Benjamin sets sail on a two-year voyage. After other separations, including another one lasting almost a year, Abby decides that the next time he sets sail, she will accompany him. “At first he apparently would not hear of it; but ‘when I insisted (as far as affectionate obedience could insist) he at last reluctantly yielded . . . .” (5)

Soon after they embark in September 1829 aboard the Antarctic, Abby frets about her young son, who remains on shore, and suffers from seasickness. Eventually, she overcomes both of these impediments and, with little to occupy her days, becomes an observer of life at sea, the various worlds she visits, and the people she meets. In addition to her many observations, she also argues for the improvement of seamen, both in their working conditions and as regards their education.

Whether she’s discussing cannibals, an interfering American consul, or an earthquake, she is matter-of-fact in her narrative. She neither sensationalizes nor exaggerates, unlike her husband who also leaves an account of the voyage. A map depicting the various islands visited appears in the front of the book, making it easy for readers to locate where Abby is at any stage in her journey until her return home three years later.

Captain’s Wife is the seventh volume in the Seafarers ' Voices series and is the only one from a woman’s perspective. This account, taken from the one published in 1833, is considerably shorter, mainly because the editor, Vincent McInerney, omits much of the text that pertains to “religious and evangelical matters of perhaps limited interest to the majority of contemporary readership, plus some topographical and geographical material.” This book is highly entertaining and readable, and more than once readers will find themselves holding their breath, sitting on the edges of their seats, and marveling at Abby’s examination of life on a ship and in exotic ports of call.

Review Copyright ©2012 Cindy Vallar

Captain’s Wife: Narrative of a Voyage in the Schooner Antarctic 1829, 1830, 1831
by Abby Jane Morrell
Seaforth, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84382-125-0, US $27.95 / UK £13.99