“AN OCEAN ATWEEN US,” by Angela Morrison, $10.99, 245 pages (f)
William Glover the Fourth is a teenager in a Scottish coal-mining town in the 1820s who has his eye on Lucie and plans to marry her in the historical novel “An Ocean atween Us,” the first in Angela Morrison’s We, Glovers series.
However, Lucie’s father plans to marry her off to an older man with an ailing wife.
Looking for a new opportunity, Will’s dad signs up their family, including Will and his two brothers who also work at the mines, to go to New Scotia in the Americas to help open a new mine. Lucie and Will make plans to run away and get married, but those are thwarted when Will’s dad finds them and forces them back.
Will is not happy about sailing to the Americas and the crossing is rough with storms and illnesses aboard the Maggie P. Will blames his father for every one of their hardships and finding the heart to forgive and accept his situation proves difficult.
It’s letters and a lock of hair from Lucie that carries Will through most of his struggles. As much as he tries to save for passage back to Scotland, it’s a letter from Lucie that changes his outlook on life.
“An Ocean atween Us” is an interesting story about a change of heart, finding love and learning to forgive in a tough environment. Morrison, who splits her time between Switzerland and Arizona, has done her research about the perils of the Atlantic crossing and mining on both sides of the Atlantic.
The story is told from Will’s perspective as he works through his emotional anguish of being separated from his girl, which is at times intense and can be hard to read, protecting his family, blaming his father and possibly opening up to love again. It includes Scottish brogue throughout, and while it adds authenticity to the story, it also can make it more difficult to get into the rhythm of the story. (And in the author’s note at the end, Morrison does mention she toned down the brogue from the original manuscript.)
While Will Glover is the name of her third-great-grandmother’s brother and the novel is set in the world he lived in, Morrison emphasizes that it is not a recounting of her family history.
There’s no swearing, and the only sexual content is general and in reference to marriage. There are a few instances of mild violence that are generally described.
“An Ocean atween Us” is a 2014 Whitney Award finalist in the historical category. The Whitney Awards honor novels by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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