The Quadrant: At the Crossroads of Anjier

This book is second in a 3-volume narrative journey set in 19th century New England and on the high seas. The obstacles to a true splicing of souls are many, but in this continuation of The Quadrant Vol. I (At the Mother of Waters), Maine native Capt. Ben Melchett and Welsh Romany seaman James Robertson narrow the gaps in culture, work and belief which divided them in the beginning. Mediated by the hand of first mate Eben McCabe, they move closer to their true vocations and to one another, despite the resistances of tradition and their own hidden pasts. As a ship’s carpenter carves out a figurehead by discovering the image that lies within the wood, or as a shipwright launches a living vessel by intuiting the ribs which frame it, so these two men liberate the architecture of one another’s vision. This is the shared narration of their journey—on land, in the hardships of coastal Maine; at sea, in the contests of Cape Horn and the enchantments of Anjier; and above all, in the storied terrain of one another’s memories and dreams. But though they come at last within sight of their landfall, it is the sea which has the final word.