THE SHIP WIFE

Vines presents a historical drama of a strong-willed Irish prisoner at sea in the 18th century.

In Protestant-ascendant Ireland in 1792, young and beautiful Elizabeth’s parents send her away to a manor in the Irish countryside to work as a housemaid. She soon suffers sexual abuse at the hands of the men in the wealthy household. All that sustains her is her love for Michael, a stable boy who shows her only a semblance of tenderness but is nonetheless willing to spurn her after he finds out about the abuse she suffers. When Elizabeth is swept up in a seemingly random mass arrest and sentenced to seven years in the penal colony of New South Wales, she must contend with the bleakness before her—a future that diverges into two different, devastating paths: either monthslong claustrophobia in the ship’s dismal hull or sexual exploitation by one of the ship’s crew in exchange for material comforts. Elizabeth soon finds herself drawing the interest of the ship’s captain, and what ensues is a meticulous account of one woman’s efforts toward self-preservation, an unending parlay with guilt and shame. Vines carefully renders Elizabeth's persistent horror throughout the narrative; at one point, she expresses a fear that she will never marry and instead “become one of the others, the bad women, the lost women, lost both in this world and the next.” The novel is deeply concerned with microscopic facets of its environment, which can feel prosaic at times; it also features nonconsensual sex scenes that may disturb many readers. However, Elizabeth’s internal conflicts as she navigates her relationships with those who exploit her body remain deeply felt, with many relatable passages: “It shocked her that she would settle for anyone rather than no one, and that she would use this need for her benefit.”

A dense, deeply emotional, and often disturbing historical drama.