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During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century, a number of local Newfoundland writers did much to preserve many of the old stories and traditions that had been handed down by word of mouth from past generations of Newfoundlanders. They published their stories and articles in the Newfoundland Quarterly, the various Christmas annuals, and in the newspapers of the day. Some of their tales are republished in this collection of Newfoundland and Labrador stories of the sea.

Among the old tales retold in this book are those of shipwrecks, rescues, and of wreckings that date back to 1538, when the Sieur de Roberval marooned his niece on Fishot Island, Newfoundland, as a punishment for having fallen in love with a young man during a voyage to Canada. There are stories of the capture of Yankee privateers, and one of the recapture of a Carbonear ship taken by the French. The sad tale of the wreck of the Queen of Swansea in 1867 is included, as well as the letters written by several of the victims of that terrible tragedy. The selection from Rockwell Kent’s book N by E gives a first-hand account of how the loss of the Southern Cross affected the community of Brigus.

Read an excerpt from A Sea of Mothers' Tears