Still, the haunting image of a cursed ship lingers, and Hicks succeeds in making the Mary CelesteĪ character as human as any of the sailors and reporters who spent their lives struggling to make sense of her puzzling, often painful history. With Flood's disappearance from the story, the passionate sweep of the saga diminishes, and Hicks explores so many theories readers are cast adrift on a sea of speculation. The Dei GratiaĬrew emerged after a salvation hearing with tarnished reputations, and the Mary Celeste Into port were guilty of foul play, Flood indulged in what Hicks calls "a full-fledged witch-hunt." He tautly documents Flood's hysteria, along with his rage upon learning red marks on the ship's floor weren't the bloodstains he'd hoped for. Convinced the Dei GratiaĬrew members who brought the Mary Celeste
He generates excitement with the introduction of a colorful villain, queen's proctor Frederick Solly Flood. His chronicle, rigorously researched and written with spare, precise clarity, takes a while to gather emotional momentum and present its characters. Is a master of cliffhanging phrases, and he hooks readers with warnings of the ship's bad luck and poor timing. , boarded her and saw no trace of struggle, no serious weather damage or any other trouble that would have prompted sailors to abandon ship. Members of another vessel, the Dei Gratia , was discovered floating without a crew. On December 4, 1872, a small merchant ship, the Mary Celeste
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