Author Joan Druett Conjures up the Seven Seas

If you love stories of sailing, adventure, the vast Pacific, navigation, or other such things Marianas Variety writer B C Cook wants to introduce you to one of his favourite authors, New Zealand maritime historian Joan Druett.

“My introduction to Druett came when I read Rough Medicine, the story of ship’s surgeons and the state of the medical field two hundred years ago,” Cook writes. “It was a fascinating read and Druett is a great story teller. In fact, one of the compliments often repeated is that she writes with such drama and flair that her non-fiction books read more like a novels.

“I wanted more so I devoured In the Wake of Madness, a blow-by-blow account of the mutiny aboard the whale ship Sharon, one of the most famous and bloody such events to stain the pages of Pacific history.

“Her latest book is The Notorious Captain Hayes, about the infamous Bully Hayes. There is no way to briefly tell the tale of this wretched man, who stole and plundered, swindled and gambled, lied and cajoled his way from one corner of the Pacific to the other. He was a true scoundrel whose legend grew larger than the man, as the press and public couldn’t get enough of his exploits. I can’t wait to read it.”

Druett, 77, was born in Nelson and raised in Palmerston North.

Original article by B C Cook, Marianas Variety, October 3, 2016.