Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson

by Mark Siegel, Mark Siegel (Illustrator)

Overview

One hundred years ago. On the foggy Hudson River, a riverboat captain rescues an injured mermaid from the waters of the busiest port in the United States. A wildly popular--and notoriously reclusive--author makes a public debut. A French nobleman seeks a remedy for a curse. As three lives twine together and race to an unexpected collision, the mystery of the Mermaid of the Hudson deepens.
 
A mysterious and beguiling love story with elements of Poe, Twain, Hemingway, and Greek mythology, drawn in moody black-and-white charcoal, Sailor Twain is a study in romance, atmosphere, and suspense.
 
Sailor Twain is one of The Washington Post's Top 10 Graphic/Comic Reads of 2012

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466828087
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	10/02/2012
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	929,643
File size:	136 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Mark Siegel was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and grew up in France. He is the editorial director of First Second and an accomplished writer and illustrator. He is the illustrator of To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, a Robert F. Sibert Award Honor Book, written by his wife, Siena Cherson Siegel; and author and illustrator of the picture book Moving House, published by Roaring Brook Press.

Reading Group Guide

19th century steamboat captain Elijah Twain finds a wounded mermaid named South in the
Hudson River and nurses her back to health. Her existence seems to hold the key to the strange
behavior of some of Twain's shipmates, most notably Dieudonné de Lafayette and his vanished
brother, Jacques-Henri. Twain seeks to discover exactly why. A controversial best-selling book
about mermaids—shockingly penned by a woman—provides some answers but raises questions
of its own.

Editorial Reviews

In a work that calls to mind Conrad’s enigmatic short story “The Secret Sharer,” we follow the story of Captain Twain, a steamboat captain who discovers a wounded mermaid clinging to the side of his ship. Twain secretly brings her aboard, stows her in his cabin, and nurses her back to health, developing a strong attachment to her in the process. As he begins to learn her story, he recognizes that it may have a connection to correspondence between Dieudonné de Lafayette, the womanizing proprietor of the steamboat line, and writer C.G. Beaverton. Lafayette spends his days in endless conquest of the women who board his steamboat, which keeps him distracted enough that he doesn’t discover Twain’s secret stowaway. What readers eventually discover about the mermaid and her world brings about a series of dramatic events that lead to the story’s remarkable conclusion. Siegel’s strength as a storyteller is in knowing precisely how to balance the verbal and the visual, sometimes taking us for two or three pages on a wordless sequence that says so much more than dialogue ever could. As well, the manner in which he presents both the real and the fantastic shows his profound understanding of both worlds. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Absolutely not to be missed.” —Booklist, starred review

“This extraordinary work of fiction pushes the graphic novel well beyond its previous limits. The narrative takes us on many journeys through space and time, but is more than a mere tale. It's about past and present, the absolute importance of myth, of language, of stories themselves. In superb words and drawings, it also explores obsession and love in a way that is original to the genre, and to literature itself. In the best sense, the completed work succeeds in a very difficult task: making the reader more human. Bravo!” —Pete Hamill

“Addictive.” —Rachel Maddow

“Wow. Fabulous.” —Robin McKinley

“A gorgeous piece of work about moral conflicts, romantic distress, and fishy secrets.” —Laura Kipnis

“A romance in the truest sense of the word, Sailor Twain is a marvel of graphical beauty and complex, intelligent storytelling. Siegel creates a misty, magical Hudson river that is somehow realer and truer and more seductive and many fathoms deeper than the real thing.” —Lev Grossman

“I had a most engaging voyage on the doomed Lorelei, and I much enjoyed meeting young Captain Twain—not to mention the mermaid in the Hudson. This is a gripping novel with compelling characters, enhanced by haunting, erotically charged drawings.” —John Irving

“Siegel's illustrations underscore the multiple themes of deceit and deception: softly blurred charcoal riverscapes transform the Hudson into a proving ground for dark magic, and the doe-eyed characters are nowhere near as innocent as they look. You're never too old for a well-told fairy tale.” —BCCB

From the Publisher

Another American mermaid beguiles an otherwise stalwart man in this graphic novel inspired by the greats of 19th-century American literature. Elijah Twain captains the Lorelei, a steamboat on the Hudson. One fateful night, he rescues an injured mermaid from its waters, closeting her in his cabin. Meanwhile, the behavior of the boat’s financial backer, a Frenchman named Lafayette, grows frenetically amorous toward its lady passengers. Unknown to Twain, Lafayette believes that his brother was taken by this same mermaid and is attempting to break her spell by juggling seven lovers at the same time. Sailor Twain was originally serialized online, and the story makes sly hints to Melville, Dickens, and, as one would expect, Mark Twain. Its atmospheric charcoal drawings contain elements of both menace and humor. An engrossing read from one of the most-respected artist/publishers in the field.

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