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Whaling Letters can be purchased through the DWM "Gift Shop."

In 1980, the  Descendants of Whaling Masters published a volume of previously uncollected  correspondence of the whaling era entitled "My Dear Husband." The book was compiled and edited by DWM member and UMASS Dartmouth professor Genevieve Darden. A poignant collection of letters written between whalemen and their wives, whaling masters and merchants, and fathers to children, the  book was enthusiastically received and has been out of print for many years.
  
In 1999, DWM approached New Bedford, Massachusetts, actor Ray Veary to see if the material in "My Dear Husband" might be adapted for a staged  reading. The result was a script which he adapted from the book and which he  has performed  in the Southeastern Massachusetts area with local actor Lucy  Bly.

When Ray and Lucy performed their first dramatic reading of excerpts from  "My Dear Husband" at DWM's annual meeting, the program was so successful it soon became apparent that there was a demand for a reprint of  the book.

In the fall of 2002, under the leadership and inspiration of then DWM  chairperson, Susan Grace Taber, and a committee comprised of Catherine and  William "Bud" H.  Potter, Jr. and Christine Davis and with the  blessing of the DWM executive board, the "Whaling Letters" reprint  project was launched with the new title suggested by Ray Veary.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK . . .


Praise for "Whaling Letters"

My Dear Husband, a collection of  poignant letters between whalemen and their wives, was published for the  first time in 1980. It was compiled and edited by Genevieve Darden, a member of Descendants of Whaling Masters and a former English professor. At the time  of publication, Professor Darden spoke of the vitality and immediacy  contained in this correspondence - written, as she commented "in the very midst of experience."

Through these letters we are introduced to the common themes, at home and abroad, which were part of every whaling  voyage: loneliness, separation,  hardship, and endurance. They are also an important window on the history of  their time, referencing national and world events.  And they include wonderfully descriptive passages that speak to life aboard ship, the business  of whaling, and far-away ports of call that were frequented by nineteenth century whalers.

The Descendants of Whaling Masters is to be commended for reprinting a book that has an enduring importance for scholars, historians, and whaling enthusiasts from around the world.  

- Anne B. Brengle
  Former President, New Bedford Whaling Museum



 
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