Thomas Guay’s evocatively written Chesapeake Bound is a visceral tale of love, adventure, and perseverance centered around one man, Michael Shea. Shea's quest to survive and navigate a lost romance, a false murder sentence, and the mysterious presence of the actual killer, all while tending to the ill aboard an eighteenth-century transatlantic voyage, is ready-made for a film adaptation. While reading, my theatrical history mind instantly set about casting movie stars.
Description
A story of desperate immigrants looking for adventure, advancement, love, and, most of all, a sense of belonging in the colonies
London, 1763: Gifted musician and medical apprentice Michael Shea is living rough after being blackballed from working as a surgeon's assistant. Not only does Michael lose his gig playing fiddle in a tavern, he also is framed for the murder of a tavern patron visiting from colonial Virginia. Worse, Michael realizes his ladylove wasn't interested in true love. He was just a divertissement.
Heartbroken and out of options, Michael and his friend, Danny, escape the turmoil by shipping out on the misnamed brig The Delight as lowly indentured servants. On board are forty-eight other desperate souls—everyday people risking their lives to immigrate to the wilds of America, hoping for a better life in the colonies where they can break free of a rigid class system, prejudice, and poverty. Michael’s medical skills prove critical as the passengers endure the ravages of the long trans-Atlantic journey from London to Annapolis: killer storms, accidents, sickness, and Barbary raiders. While attending to the sick, Michael realizes that he has not yet escaped the murder for which he was framed—and that the real killer will do anything to keep his identity a secret.
Reviews
Tom Guay’s historical novel Chesapeake Bound is a salty romp of a sea story filled with shenanigans, scruffy musicians turned sailors, love, murder, intrigue, stormy seas, and even pirates, all aboard the ship Delight, sailing from London to a faraway town called Annapolis. If you enjoy rollicking adventures with memorable characters, you’ll enjoy this book.
A talented writer, communicator, and musician, Tom Guay is deeply ingrained in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. He writes with authenticity and passion that showcase his commitment to his characters, their stories, and their settings.
Thomas Guay’s eighteenth-century high seas adventure brims with irresistible historical and nautical detail. I found myself ripping through the pages to learn what happens next to the exceptionally developed characters. Chesapeake Bound is a terrific read.
