"A luminous work of historical fiction that explores the far reaches of the Arctic and of men's souls." —Denver Post Capturing a crucial moment in the history of exploration—the mid-nineteenth century romance with the Arctic—Andrea Barrett's compelling novel tells the story of a fateful expedition. Through the eyes of the ship's scholar-naturalist, Erasmus Darwin Wells, we encounter the Narwhal's crew, its commander, and the far-north culture of the Esquimaux. In counterpoint, we meet the women left behind in Philadelphia, explorers only in imagination. Together, those who travel and those who stay weave a web of myth and mystery, finally discovering what they had not sought, the secrets of their own hearts.

Spanning two centuries, an intricately woven collection of stories and novellas journeys across landscapes of yearning, awakening, loss, and unexpected discovery as the lives of extraordinary characters unfold in a borderland between science and passion.

Purports to be the journal of Zoticus de Lesseps, written on an ill-fated 1863 voyage accompanying Captain Nemo to explore the mysteries of the deep sea.

From the 1996 National Book Award-winning author of "Ship Fever and Other Stories". What begins as a classic boy-meets-girl tale in 1955 becomes something far different when marriage and two children do not bring a family closer together. "Lucid Stars" is the moving story of how one family learns to survive by becoming a planetary system that just happens to be missing its sun.

Barrett's two previous novels won her comparisons to Gail Godwin and Anne Tyler. The Middle Kingdom--now available in trade paper--is the story of a dutiful wife in an unhappy marriage who accompanies her husband on a business trip to China. But once there she falls out of love with her husband and into love with the country and its culture.

A major novel by the author of "Ship Fever", winner of the 1996 National Book Award for fiction. Part adventure, part love story, this unforgettable novel captures a crucial moment in the history of exploration. Combining fact and fiction, the story focuses on Erasmus Darwin Wells, a 19th-century scholar/naturalist and his expedition to search for an open polar sea. NPR feature.

When childhood sweethearts Reba Dwyer and Luke Wyatt marry, they expect no surprises. But now that Luke is her husband, discord enters their lives. Secret Harmonies is utterly absorbing, moving story of what happens to this couple.