In 1898 a political firestorm surrounded the creation of Newfoundland’s Alphabet Fleet. But before long these coastal boats became a beloved part of the fabric of life in Newfoundland and Labrador. These ships carried bright-eyed young teachers to their first outport assignments. They brought wedding dresses to excited brides and Christmas parcels and letters to eager hands. They carried people home from city hospitals and the dead to be buried in family plots. Through crew and passenger recollections, this book brings the Alphabet Fleet to life. It also vividly describes the heroics and disasters associated with these legendary vessels.

Maura Hanrahan is the author, co-author, or editor of ten books in several genres, including creative non-fiction, history, and the acclaimed The Doryman (2003). Her writing has won awards in Canada, Britain, and the U.S. Born in Newfoundland, she is of English, Irish, French and Mi’kmaq ancestry. For about fourteen years, she has been a self-employed consultant on Aboriginal issues and has worked mostly with Aboriginal organizations on health, education, land claims, and cultural survival issues. She lives in St. John’s with her husband, the novelist Paul Butler. She has won several book awards including: the 2007 Good Read Novel Competition: Honourable Distinction for Sheilagh’s Brush (unpublished novel); and the 2005 History and Heritage Award for Tsunami: The Newfoundland Tidal Wave Disaster.

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