The Voyage of the Norman D., As Told by the Cabin Boy

by Barbara Newhall Follett

Genres: Fiction

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Barbara Newhall Follett (born March 4, 1914 – December 7, 1939 (disappeared)) was an American child prodigy novelist. Her first novel, The House Without Windows, was published in 1927 when she was thirteen years old. Her next novel, The Voyage of the Norman D., received critical acclaim when she was fourteen.

In 1939 she became depressed with her marriage and walked out of her apartment with just thirty dollars when she was 25 years old. She was never seen again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_...

Reviews

[Nemo Daoud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book invigorated my spirit in a uniquely passionate manner. It fills the heart with adventure. Being able to read it only on the premises of a university library was an unfortunate position. I was aching for a copy to take home within the first ten pages! It has been about a year now, and I just now learned that a new edition is available physically, so, out of excitement, I finally found the will to leave this review. I think it is because this work entered the public domain in 2024 that a new print was then able to be created and distributed. It is finally in print again, so I highly suggest getting yourself a copy. Follett is one of few writers who could capture the essence of truly living. She illustrates in intricate detail what it feels like to seize the moment. She blends vivid reality with the blisses of fantasy. She makes you yearn for life, for the little things, for the moments of the day that might otherwise slip by. I cannot recommend both this and The House Without Windows enough. Now that this work is more convenient to obtain and generally accessible, it is the perfect time to give it a read. You won't regret adding this book to your collection. 5 stars.

[Nancy Johnson]

Looking to find this book as an e-book.

[Gregg Wingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of us dream of pirates and spent our childhoods in mental adventures of "Treasure Island". Unlike we mere mortals Ms. Follett felt compelled to write her own pirate story and realizing she didn't know enough about the art and trade of sailing arranged to actually travel and work her way on one of the few commercial schooners still plying the waters of the Eastern Seaboard. And she did it at the ripe old age of thirteen....and this book records her experience of those weeks of freedom.

The child prodigy burst upon the literary world in 1927 at the age of 13 and published this work and second book the following year. Both were acclaimed as visions into the mind of a child and as literary pieces exploring the wonder of nature. In "The Voyage of the Norman D" she captures the sense of the adventure of childhood, her own raw courage, and the humanness of her shipmates. Each character, each climb into the rigging makes the reader yearn for more and for the swell of the waves and the salty bite of the wind.

The book allows us to touch the mysterious life of the soon to be extinguished beacon of Barbara Newhall Follett and the true men of the seas.

[Kimberley Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, the writer may have read "Treasure Island" one time too many. All the same, the fourteen-year-old point of view makes this firsthand account of sailing aboard a working old-style schooner all the more fun to read.

[Stefan Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farksolia has published a new edition of TVOTND with a new afterword by Stefan Cooke and an old profile of Barbara by her father, which appeared in "The Horn Book" in May 1928.