A Faraway Place

About the Book

A Faraway Place  is  the story of the human desire to belong to place and to a people without being owned and of  the inevitable tragedy that results when even a well-intentioned man attempts to fashion the fates of those he loves.

The young, beautiful orphan, Bronwyn Biddle, arrives on Nantucket in May of 1837, overtly to teach school, but secretly to answer the questions that have haunted her since her childhood. Who is she? Where does she come from? What is the truth of her relationship with her adopted uncle Sam Dawes?  Mesmerized by almost twenty years of Sam's enchanting stories of his wind-swept isle and armed with a tantalizing piece of evidence from an overheard conversation, Bronwyn is eager to prove that "the far away land" is her home and Sam is her father. While Sam seems to accept her decision to join him, he sets immediately to plotting her departure, before the terrible truth of her heritage can undermine the lie his life on Nantucket has become.  Unfortunately for Sam, Bronwyn cannot help but draw people to her by virtue of her ingenuous personality and her striking physical beauty, and all too soon, two whaling men of very different backgrounds have fallen in love with her.

The first to woo her is Alain du Maurier, a recent widower and a merchant of considerable means.  Orphaned by the French Revolution, he recaptured his affluence by marrying the daughter of a prominent Nantucket whaling merchant.  Alain represents the consummate outsider ("coof" in the local dialect) by dint of both his origins and his arrogant personality, and the locals despise him.  In a daring act of courtship, Alain lays bare his past in all its sordid drama in hopes of pre-empting its interpretation by others less sympathetic to his cause.  It is a story of shattering loss, resourceful redemption and remarkable calculation. "Alain's Story" is the first of a series of three distinct narratives that eventually serve to reveal the truth about Bronwyn's identity.  

Sam struggles to derail this romance and manages, at least, to sow some doubts in his niece's mind.  Unfortunately, in so doing, he opens the path for her second suitor, Michael Ryan.  

Bronwyn's and Michael's real rapport begins when they meet on the island's south shore the day after a ship has foundered.  "Michael's Story" unfolds during their ride home, in response to Bronwyn’s curiosity about the thick, rope-like scars on his back, and it is a tale of such horror that it handily eclipses Alain's sensational beginnings.   Born in Australia, the son of a "transported" criminal and her master, Michael only learns of his true parentage when he witnesses his mother's rape and her husband's murder.  When his mother is exiled to Van Dieman's land,  Michael is retained by his natural father, who beats him at the slightest infraction in a desperate attempt to elicit any emotion, even fear.  Years later, Michael escapes his origins by boarding a Nantucket whaler in port in the penal colony for supplies and repairs.  He takes naturally to whaling and Nantucket becomes his homeport.

Sam is even more crazed by Bronwyn's relationship with Michael than he was by Alain's courtship; his opposition only fans the flames.

Bronwyn is confused by her attraction to two such different men and deeply concerned by what she fears to be a fickleness of affection on her part. Her dilemma is resolved several months later at an elaborate holiday party at the newest, most sumptuous mansion on the island, when a drunken Alain takes advantage of her.  Hurt and confused by Alain's domination, Bronwyn cools towards him, as she warms to Michael's gentle attentions.  Sensing Sam's opposition, Bronwyn and Michael court secretly. When Bronwyn finally reveals their intentions to her uncle, he resorts to the truth to prevent their marriage.

"The Doctor'

About the Author

Judith Hughes is the author of Chronicle Books’ Betty & Rita Go To… series of dog books featuring the award winning photography of her partner, Michael Malyszko. She has lived in Paris and Rome, and now resides in Boston with Michael, their daughter, Maeve, and their dogs, Betty and Rita.