Quietly My Captain Waits

Susan Merskey is freelance writer in London, Ontario.

Set against the backdrop of the competition between France and England
for empire in North America in the early 18th century, Quietly My
Captain Waits is the story of two ill-fated lovers: Louise de Freneuse,
married and widowed twice, and Pierre de Bonaventure, a fleet captain in
the French navy. Their impossible relationship, which endures many
vicissitudes and must remain completely concealed from the rest of the
world until half way through the book, helps them to endure the
day-to-day struggle in the settlement at Port Royal. The action moves
between Quebec, the backwoods of what is now New Brunswick, Port Royal
(the colonial capital of Acadia), and the royal court in France.

In his introduction, Barry M. Moody notes that the author did not
intend to write a historical account of the period, but rather a novel
set in the past. However, she clearly drew on both primary and secondary
sources in writing it, and this adds an immense richness and
authenticity to her work. This new edition of Quietly My Captain Waits,
originally published in 1940, is part of the Formac Fiction Treasures
series, which is intended “to offer contemporary readers access to
books which were very successful in their time but are now little known
and hard to find.”