To the Edge of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo
I’ve always been fascinated by exploration, especially the expeditions led by such pioneering figures as Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen, whose exploits have ingrained themselves in the public imagination for over a century. However, while the men gain all the accolades, there are many women whose contributions, not just to exploration, but also to women’s place in society and the world, have been largely left forgotten. It is here that Tilar J. Mazzeo brings the astonishing, shocking and outstanding story of Mary Ann Patten in To the Edge of the World:
The life of Mary Ann Patten and her husband, Joseph Patten, is one that certainly resonated through mid-mineteenth century America, celebrating the achievement of one young woman who taught herself ship navigation and medicine whilst sailing aboard the Clipper ship, Neptune’s Car, under the command of her husband, and who, at the age of nineteen, took command of the ship when her husband became incapacitated and stood down a mutiny and safely circumnavigated the South Seas around Cape Horn, and Drake’s Passage during hurricaine weather in a tale that’s as breathtaking as it is frightening.
In To the Edge of the World, author Tilar J. Mazzeo brings Mary Ann Patten’s life to the modern reader in a rapid-paced biography of not just her life, but a riveting view of seafaring and life in nineteenth-century America, which paints a portrait of the world the Pattens lived in.
From their humble New England beginnings, we are taken on a virtual expedition through the history of navigation, which helped chart many of the most dangerous passages on Earth and the exploitation of humans (not just slaves) which existed in world trade at that time, and the trade of such vital provisions as tea from China, the travels of these sea merchants travelling across the globe in the newest of clipper ships are only for the most ardent Captains determined to make their fortune. However, in To the Edge of the World, we read, with bated breath, the trials of Mary Ann Patten, who, on taking charge of Neptune’s Car, not only made her a celebrity of the time, but also a namesake for the growing plight of the Suffrage movement.
In To the Edge of the World, Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life Mary Ann Patten’s life and world, and the trials she was burdened with throughout her short life in a breathtaking tale of adventure and tragedy, and a fantastic book to start the year off!
- To the Edge of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo is out now, published by Elliott & Thompson (£20.00). To order a copy, go to eandtbooks.com
