A Winter's Tale: The Wreck of the Florizel

I bought the first edition (1976) back in that decade when I was visiting Canada. Since then I've read it three times with the greatest pleasure. My wife has read it and awards five stars as well. The setting is 1918 off the coast of Newfoundland. The liner Florizel makes a winter time run from St. John's toward Halifax, but is set ashore near Cape Race. How could this happen? The author covers the run in detail sufficient to interest a professional seaman. You follow along mile by mile and ponder the mystery as if reading a novel, except this happens to be a true account. The next section is a gripping report of the stranding itself, as over half the passengers and crew are lost to surf and cold while Florizel breaks up bit by bit. Then the rescue effort is described by the writer, who obviously understands the difficulties involved, and finally we come to the official inquiry and judgment. The level of research that Cassie Brown undertook is impressive in itself. Her ability as a narrator is superb.