Whistle for a Wind: Maine 1820

The Young Bennetts #1

by Elisabeth Ogilvie

Whistle for a Wind is set in 1820 on Brigport (based on the Maine island of Matinicus), where the Bennetts lived before settling on the island that bears their name. Here we meet Jamie Bennett, the patriarch of the Bennetts, and learn about island life during the year that Maine became a state. In typical Ogilvie fashion, the story revolves around a central crisis: Wreckers are luring ships onto the rocks in order to abscond with their cargo. The skipper of the Cynthia is killed in one such raid, and soon Jamie is involved in bringing the killers to justice.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Elisabeth Ogilvie’s striking evocation of the atmosphere of the Maine seacoast that is the background of The Seasons Hereafter is no accident, for she lived in just such an area for many years, and her love for its people and their way of life has influenced all her novels.
Her activities on Gay’s Island, where she spent most of the year, included writing, gardening, and “trying not to suspect that a bear is at the door, a moose lurking in among the alders, or a horned owl hovering overhead about to bear away the cat.”
She contributed a considerable amount of writing of magazine fiction and children’s books, and is the author of several novels, including There May Be Heaven, The Witch Door, Rowan Head, The Dawning of the Day, Storm Tide, and one book of nonfiction, My World Is an Island.

Reviews

[Payton Grieco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1954, this book has a slow rising action and a quick climax that is practically combined with the summary. Characters are lovable and their strengths are admirable. The main character struggles to hold his family together after his dad is taken by pirates and has to learn to be the “father” of the family. As a high schooler this is the type of book that I think anyone my age should read along with more modern books.