The Wind Seller [Paperback]

In her highly anticipated second novel, Rachael Preston tells a vibrant, compelling story of 20th century piracy. Exploring the complex struggle for freedom against a backdrop of passion and repression, The Wind Seller is the story of two vulnerable, shellshocked people and the “wind seller” who captivates them both. Life in 1924 Kenomee, Nova Scotia, seems simple enough. Until, that is, a mysterious schooner blows into town under the cover of darkness, in desperate need of repair. Waking up to the giant black ship moored near their wharf, the villagers gather to take a gander at the Esmeralda and her crew. To everyone’s surprise, there’s a woman on board, and she shares the schooner’s name. Claiming to be the captain’s daughter, she wears men’s clothing — young and beautiful, she is as fit and as strong as the men. She is also an enigma and starts a chain of events that will change everyone’s life, except perhaps her own. The Wind Seller is a moving story about choices and consequences, but it is also about imprisonment by, and release from, the personal demons unleashed by terrible experience.

When a mysterious schooner blows into the little town of Kenomee, tongues start wagging. Like the other villagers gathered at the wharf, Hetty Douglas can’t help but be fascinated by the Esmeralda and her ragtag crew. Suffocating in a marriage of convenience and tormented by memories of the Halifax Explosion, Hetty falls under the spell of an exotic sailor-woman. So does Noble Matheson, who has seen enough to draw his own conclusions. A compelling story of 20th-century piracy, Rachael Preston’s compelling, fast-paced novel explores the complex struggle for freedom against a backdrop of passion and repression.

A native of Yorkshire, England, Rachael Preston earned a Master’s degree in English Literature from Queen’s University. She also studied at Emily Carr College in Vancouver. She has worked as an ESL professor at Asia University in Tokyo and co-wrote a series of video scripts produced for classroom use. She has also taught English in Vancouver; London, England; and the Czech Republic, and has worked as an advertising copywriter and editor. She currently teaches creative writing both in class and online for Mohawk and Sheridan colleges. In 2005, Rachael Preston assumed the position of Chair of gritLIT, Hamilton’s writers’ festival, and has since expanded the festival’s mandate to include children’s writers, genre authors, and graphic novelists. She is also a judge for the Power of the Pen, the Hamilton Public Library Creative Writing Competition. In 2001, she won the Arts Hamilton Literary Award and was nominated for the Journey Prize. Rachael Preston is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel Tent of Blue (Goose Lane Editions, 2002).