Review: The Bird of Dawning by John Masefield
What a gem, this is, presented at our last meeting by Brendan1. One of my favourite genres, sea yarns. The author takes us aboard a racing tea-clipper which sinks; the survivors pass some days at sea and find a sinking abandoned tea-clipper which they save; rejoining the race, we finish with a sprint up the English Channel.
All the above is just an excuse to save some sea-lore with us. The vocabulary is fabulous covering both sailing terms and all the amazing tools and implements to be found aboard a boat before the information age. A [incomplete] glossary is provided. Written in 1933, it deals with a period when steam was just about to replace sail. Many interesting characters are on board, showing how a life of labour and hard-grind could be an escape from a chequered past.
This one joins my pantheon of top sea-faring books and I’ll be looking out for more by Masefield.
1 … though how, I’m not sure, since we were discussing books by women and neither the author nor any of the characters are female!
Asynchronists 