Ghost of the Southern Cross
Inspired by true tragic events, Strowbridge’s multi-generational tale brings to life the small coastal communities of Newfoundland at the turn of the 20th century. Fishing, sealing, and mining were the main industries, and all were dangerous; it was a rare family who had not lost a loved one to the sea or the mines.
In Foxtrap, nine-year-old Maggie Taylor watched her father sail away each day, to fish or cut wood on Kelly’s Island. Every night she’d be on the beach, awaiting his return. When he didn’t come back after a storm, Maggie’s stepmother shipped her off to work for an aunt and uncle in a different tiny town. Her friend Elizabeth Maley watched her go, then years later left Foxtrap as well, to join her husband in Hibb’s Cove. Each of these outposts clung to the edges of the sea, the inhabitants fighting nature to survive; Strowbridge creates vivid images of the tenacity of spirit, and the joys in small victories in these communities.
Maggie and Elizabeth are reunited as adults, when Maggie is engaged to Elizabeth’s brother, Jamie. Despite the danger, Jamie is intent on going sealing during the winter of 1914, to earn enough to build a house. A disastrous blizzard strikes when his ship, the Southern Cross, is due to come home. The aftermath affected families all along the coast, and generations later, people still talk about the incredible loss.
Maggie and Elizabeth find different ways to carry on, and the daily hardships they endured to survive are at the core of this sad story. Strowbridge weaves together family, cultural, and economic history for today’s readers. Her writing is an ode to the strength of human will and family ties, as well as to the irresistible call of the sea.
