This week's Top Five Wednesday challenge is to list five books set by the ocean. Though I think it was intended as a summery topic, mine aren't exactly that. Here are the five from my shelves.
Rebecca (1938), Frenchman's Creek (1941), and Jamaica Inn (1936) by Daphne du Maurier
Since I have these three in one volume, I'm going to cheat a bit and make them one book These three all take place on the Cornish coast. Frenchman's Creek and Jamaica Inn are both historical novels, with the first being a romance and the second a novel of suspense. Rebecca is a favorite suspense, and one of the best gothic novels I've read.
Seaview House by Elizabeth Fair (1955)
This is a charming, well-written, and highly enjoyable novel centering around two sisters who run a hotel in a English seaside village. Fair excelled at slice-of-life, character driven novels and it's a shame that she only published six.
The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer (7th Century BC)
These epics are obvious choices, with the sea figuring prominently in both. I love this gorgeous boxed set.
The Water of the Wonderous Isles by William Morris (1897)
I've not read this fantasy, but it centers around a young woman who travels to mysterious and fantastical islands. I've read and enjoyed another of Morris' fantasies, The Well at the World's End (1896), and have long planned to try this one.
Woolf's excellent novel takes place on the Isle of Skye, and is a wonderful example of her flowing style.
comments temporarily disabled
