Professor Marian Beresford is prone to temptation. As a lesbian in 1930s America, she has to keep her desires on the QT. She’s also used to having her academic opinions dismissed by men. So when a student presents her with what appears to be a real diary of an eighteenth-century woman detailing how she came to be a pirate at the beginning of Katherine Howe’s engrossing novel, A True Account, Marian can’t help but be ensnared by what might be the greatest discovery of her career.
The first chapter of A True Account is told by Hannah Masury, who works at a dockside tavern in Boston. There are few opportunities for a poor woman in 1726 with no family connections. Life doesn’t really get any better than a stolen moment to smoke her pipe or escape with her friends for an afternoon; there’s nothing better to hope for. On the day we meet Hannah, she’s decided to escape from the tavern and go to the execution of a notorious pirate with her friends. That same day also includes a series of bizarre events that see Hannah—now in disguise as a young boy—signing on as the cabin boy of a ship that is almost immediately taken over by the violent pirate Edward Low.
The manuscript in Marian’s hands is incredible. It looks plausible but the odds that it’s real are vanishingly small. And yet, Marian agrees to partner with the student who found the manuscript and approach her explorer father for funds to travel to Florida, on the hunt for the treasure hinted at by Hannah in her account. The narrative shifts back and forth in time as Hannah and Marian take turns sharing their adventures. Both of these stories caught and held my interest, a tricky thing with split-time novels. Even though Hannah’s chapters are full of pirates and violence and the constant possibility of being discovered, Marian’s chapters are full of hope that she might finally have found something important enough to allow her to finally step out of the long shadow of her famous father.
I really enjoyed the way that Howe teased me about the authenticity of Hannah’s manuscript. Just when I made up my mind one way about it, there would be something that would make me doubt. Why is Marian’s student, Kay, so busy courting the media when they’re trying to keep the expedition quiet? Why do so many of the details of Hannah’s account match up with contemporary maps and pirate lore while others don’t? Readers who have read R.L. Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island will have some pointed questions. Thankfully, Howe doesn’t leave us wondering at the end.
I think readers who love historical fiction and historical mysteries will have a blast reading about Hannah and Marian’s adventures. I certainly did.