Overview

Newlywed Abby Anderson is unsure whether to call herself a widow. In July of 1860, as the nation teeters on the brink of war, word comes that her merchant captain husband, Clifford, has been lost to the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Rejecting social expectations regarding proper mourning, Abby agrees to assist in an Underground Railroad operation out of her hometown of Woolwich, Maine. But an early October winter storm catches Abby and the fugitive slave family she's smuggling, and they find themselves snowed in with Bill Boudreaux, an Acadian trapper and farmer, and two Abenaki teenagers in the remote Maine wilderness. The unlikely companions must work together to ensure their survival through the long, harsh winter and find themselves growing closer, creating an unexpected family few societies would approve of-and leaving Abbey with what feels like an impossible choice. When spring comes, she will continue her quest to see the fugitive family safely to Canada. And then, she must decide where she truly belongs.

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Reviews

""The Tide Waits for No Woman by Richard Perkins is a must-read, stirring Civil War-era tale of survival, forbidden bonds, and one woman's fight to chart her own course in a world ruled by tides-both literal and social. As the shadow of war looms in the summer of 1860, the sea claims her new husband, returning to Maine from Charleston, in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Newlywed Abby Anderson refuses to retreat into grief and rejects the title of widow. Instead, she joins the perilous work of the Underground Railroad. But a sudden October blizzard traps her with a fugitive slave family, an Acadian trapper, and two Abenaki teens in the remote wilderness. Through the long winter, survival forges unlikely bonds-and forces Abby to confront a choice that will change her life forever.""-T. M. Brown, author of The Last Laird of Sapelo and Sanctuary: A Legacy of Memories ""The Tide Waits for No Woman does for the Underground Railroad what Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning Killer Angels did for Chamberlain's bayonet charge that turned the tide at Gettysburg. Through the eyes of his intrepid protagonist, Abby Anderson, Richard Perkins skillfully draws readers in and puts them directly in the cross currents leading up to the American Civil War-a time when Abby and her family must put their lives on hold and risk everything to fight for what they believe is right. This is a must-read for Civil War buffs who want to experience what it must have been like for an idealistic abolitionist and feminist to shepherd former slaves north to safety and freedom in Quebec."" -Brad Huestis, author of The Big Bad and Ahab ""The Tide Waits for No Woman, is an outstanding historical novel that deals with the time just before the American Civil War and during its first stages. The story follows Abby Anderson as she navigates the uncertainties of her husband's fate after a shipwreck, while also guiding an African American family on the Underground Railroad. Caught in an early and severe winter storm, she ends up living in one of the way stations of the railroad, where she meets a mixed-race Acadian farmer and trapper, Bill Boudreaux, and his two Abenaki stepchildren. The novel is beautifully researched and provides fascinating details about life in rural Maine during the winter, without losing sight of the bigger issues involved, including race relations and the emerging role of women as the nation barrels towards a catastrophic war. I have read lots of novels about this period, but never with the depth of information and the realistic emotional struggles the characters faced. If you read only one novel from this time, make sure it is The Tide Waits For No Woman.""-Rick Spees, author of Capitol Gains and Capitol Losses

Author Information

Richard K. Perkins was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and grew up in two New England villages. He is a US Naval Academy graduate, a career naval officer, and a systems engineer in the aerospace sector. He earned graduate degrees from the National Intelligence University, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He has contributed nonfiction columns for The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review and published short fiction in Penn Union. He lives with his wife in Southeastern Virginia, where he spends his time penning historical fiction.

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