The Eyes of the Amaryllis

by Natalie Babbitt, Alyssa Bresnahan (Narrator)

When the brig Amaryllis was swallowed in a hurricane, the captain and all the crew were swallowed, too. For thirty years the captain’s widow, Geneva Reade, has waited, certain that her husband will send her a message from the bottom of the sea. But someone else is waiting, too, and watching her, a man called Seward. Into this haunted situation comes Jenny, the widow’s granddaughter. The three of them, Gran, Jenny, and Seward, are drawn into a kind of deadly game with one another and with the sea, a game that only the sea knows how to win.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Mystery

Audio Cassette

First published November 1, 1977

About the author

Natalie Zane Babbitt was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Her 1975 novel, Tuck Everlasting, was adapted into two feature films and a Broadway musical. She received the Newbery Honor and Christopher Award, and was the U.S. nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1982.

Reviews

[Amelia the Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Tuck Everlasting in high school and LOVED it, so when I saw this I was intrigued but also skeptical (nothing can live up to Tuck, right?)

The Amaryllis is a ship that was lost during a hurricane, taking with her all of the crew members, including Geneva Reade's husband. For thirty years, Geneva has been waiting and walking the shores looking for a sign from the ship and her husband, a sign she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, would eventually come.

Like Tuck Everlasting, Babbitt weaves a beautiful tale, spun with touches of the supernatural. The Eyes of the Amaryllis is ultimately about accepting things as they are and letting go of that which you so dearly want to cling on to.

I highly recommend this book. I found it inspiring and uplifting.

[Inhabiting Books]

I beg your indulgence as I set up this review a little, so you can understand the frame of mind I came to The Eyes of the Amaryllis with. My family moved to The Gambia the summer after I turned nine, and there for the first time I met the mystery and power of the sea. It was such a new experience that we glutted ourselves with beach-going several times a week. When my parents wouldn't take us, my older brother and I would cycle to the beach off of the Sunwing Hotel to hunt in tide pools and estuaries at low tide. I loved the ocean - the moods, the sounds, the smells; but I learned to fear it too. A few months after we moved to The Gambia, our next door neighbor's son, a big, strapping, friendly lad of fourteen, drowned in the ocean. It was shocking and horrifying, the suddenness and manner of his death.

In July after I turned eleven I had my own near-drowning experience. I went swimming off the beach at the American Ambassador's residence during a Fourth of July community picnic, and got caught in the undertow. I got carried a long way out, and couldn't get back in because of the force of the undertow. There were some young Peace Corps Volunteers swimming nearby, but I didn't even have the energy to call to them for help. I faced the terrifying reality that I was probably going to die because there was no way I could muster the energy to try swimming again. I alternated treading water and floating on my back, contemplating death and thinking that I didn't want to die like my poor neighbor friend. I hated the thought of what it would do to my family. Fortunately for me, one of those Peace Corps volunteers could apparently tell I was in trouble, even though I hadn't spoken. "Getting tired?" he asked quietly as he swam up to me. I nodded my head and he put his hand under my armpit. "The undertow's bad today. I'm going to show you how to beat it. Let's swim this way." Swimming by my side, we swam parallel with the beach for a little way, and then he lead us in at an angle. That man saved my life. I was too tired to do more than whisper a thank you when we made the beach. He went off with a little wave and a "You'll be alright now", as I lay heaving on the sand, and I didn't see him again that day, even though I looked for him. I never even learned his name, but I'm alive today because he came along. (I didn't tell my parents of my near-death for years, out of fear that they'd ban me from ocean-swimming. In college I became a lifeguard, and then a life guard instructor and first aid and CPR instructor in an attempt to "pass it on.")

It was a year or so later, when I was twelve I think, that I first encountered The Eyes of the Amaryllis by Natalie Babbitt in the Banjul American Embassy School's library. Written in 1977, it was the first book I read by Natalie Babbitt. There were a couple of her other books on the shelf, but this one sounded the most intriguing, so I read it first. I was instantly captivated by the atmospheric, mysterious story that seemed to capture the hypnotic pull of the sea. It struck me powerfully at the time, I think because of my cumulative experiences with the ocean, and because I, like Jenny in the story, had grandmothers I didn't know very well.

The story takes place in 1880, when eleven year old Jenny (whose real name is Geneva) is being taken to stay with her paternal grandmother, the first Geneva, who has broken her foot and needs help until it mends. Jenny's Gran lives on a bluff in a bay on the Atlantic coast, in the same house she came to fifty years before as a bride.

"To be away from home--to stay with Gran and help her while her ankle mended--this seemed a very grownup thing to do, and Jenny had boasted about it to her friends. But in truth she was a little alarmed about that part, though her grandmother, whom she had seen before only for two weeks of the yearly Christmas season, had long been a figure of romance to her. Gran was not like other grandmothers, smelling of starch or mothballs, depending on the time of the year, and spending their time watering their plants. Gran stood straight and proud. Her face and arms were sunburned. And though she talked and listened, there always seemed to be something else on her mind, something far more absorbing than Christmas conversation.
But Jenny did not care for household chores, and was not at all sure that somewhere in her lay hidden the makings of a bedside nurse. So it wasn't that part of her adventure that excited her. No, the real enticement was the ocean. But this she could not admit. She was the only one of her friends who had never been to the shore. Preposterous, when it was only thirty miles from Springfield! But her father had never let her come, had always refused to discuss it."

Jenny quickly bonds with her unusual Gran, and learns that Gran has been waiting for years for a gift from the sea, a gift from her dead husband. (Thirty years before, Gran's sea captain husband drowned when his ship, the Amaryllis, sank just off the coast of home in a storm, as his wife and child watched from the bluff in helpless horror.) Ever since, Gran has searched the beaches every day at high tide, no matter the time or weather for some memento. (That is, in fact, how she broke her foot.) Now Gran needs Jenny to be her eyes and legs on the beach, and continue the search. But there is another searcher, a mysterious man named Seward, who could not let such a gift be taken from the sea.

I won't tell you anymore. It's the perfect book to read this time of year, if you want a little spookiness.

Twelve year old me loved this book, and because I loved it, I went on to read Tuck Everlasting, which I also loved. I was loath to re-read it as an adult, lest it lose the magic. I'm happy to report, however, that it holds up to adult reading very well, and I caught nuances of the relationship between Gran and her son (Jenny's father) that I didn't fully understand at the time of my first reading, and understand Gran's obsession a little better now, too.


Published in 1977 by Farrar, Straus and Girouux.

[Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember loving this book when I was younger, but I couldn't remember why, so I reread it. So much in it that I know I missed when I was younger. The imagery of the sea is so beautiful and so descriptive, you could hear the sea in your head the whole time you were reading. Gran's devotion to her lost husband and the expense of her relationship with her son, and Gran's and Jenny's connection make the book impossible to put down as an adult. So good.

[Jersy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad and tragic, slightly spooky and mysterios book with so much depth of characters in so few pages. I loved that both Jenny's grandma and father were very likable but also deeply flawed, shaped by the events of the past. It's a moving story told in such a charming was, making me both laugh and cry several times.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many folks love Tuck Everlasting most of this author's works. . .but this one is my favorite.

My maternal grandma was a reader and made sure I never lacked for books. Every visit started with a quick run to a bookseller or library where she would acquaint me with her childhood favorites, but who was ever interested in my developing tastes. As it happened I was mostly out of Natalie Babbitt's target audience by a few years, but I was a babysitter that loved to read to my charges, and that's how I discovered this one.

The idea of a disappearing ship that continues to sail the sea at the bottom, kept in place by love and promises and a home on the shore. . .where a grandma and a grandgirl who looks just like her? Spirit whispers, phantom guides who watch and guard, and an ocean that tosses out a "big, green smile" when at peace, well that hits too close to my heart to not be a favorite.

So, a happy reunion this week, with NB, Geneva, Jenny, Seward and the Captain. Oh, and the head of the Amaryllis (which looks just like young Geneva), and her all-seeing eyes. . . . .


52:8

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grandmother lives by the sea and has for 50 years. But since her husband's ship went down with all hands 30 years ago, she has been obsessed with waiting for a sign from him from the sea. She recently broke her ankle, thus Jenny's visit in order to help her while she recuperates. But Grandmother enlists Jenny in her search of the seashore for a "sign" from her husband.
The story is beautifully written, with hints that one of the characters might be a ghost. The characters are well-drawn, come alive on the page, and their actions and motives are believable. The book never says where the story takes place, but the granddaughter and her father are from Springfield, possibly Massachusetts (my guess). The year is never given, but it is set in a time when people had to use buggies and horses for transportation.

[(Katie) Paperbacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been wanting to try more books by Natalie Babbitt since one of my favorite books is Tuck Everlasting. This was an interesting story set on the island of Nantucket, where a grandmother and her granddaughter play a dangerous game of waiting with the sea.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

GEORGE READE, I LOVE YOU AND YOU DESERVE THE WORLD

(Geneva Reade, Sr., you need to be, like, waterboarded for a bit or something 'cause ew)

[Capn · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Book 2 of the Middle Grade Madness August 2022 MG Reading Challenge)

Yeah, it was alright. Google confirms it is meant to be set in Nantucket (Springfield, presumably Ill., being inland and horse-and-buggy driving distance away).

Not as scary or as haunting as promised. There's a good (not great) description of a hurricane; for MG, the one in The Talking Earth is better.

This is a quick read, 144 pages only, and I feel it could have been substantially improved if it had been even just a little longer: more scene setting, more description of the historical setting, the town/village (presumably somewhere on Nantucket), the colour and name of the horse belonging to the family, a description Geneva (Jr.)'s home in Springfield, etc.

The story is centred upon Geneva Sr., the grandmother living at the seaside and obsessed with her late husband, Captain Morgan Reade, who drowned before her eyes as the Amaryllis floundered on the rocks in front of her and her young son, George, some thirty years previously. Geneva, George's 11 year old granddaughter, is sent to help her namesake (and spitting image) for 3 weeks as the grandmother has recently broken an ankle. She's also there to seemingly mend a rift between mother and son, and to produce 'a sign', a sign from the depths of the sea of the Captain's continuing love for his wife... or at least, Geneva Sr. is convinced of this latter role.

Again, was hoping for a lot more creep factor: Seward was a fascinating character, but there wasn't enough about him. I was genuinely expecting he or Gran to walk into the sea and be lost to the waves at the climax or denouement. But neither were. It ended rather abruptly, I thought, even with the 'romantic' sign at the end which I suppose was supposed to satisfy. All the good bits, I thought, were left somewhat unexplored. Especially the Eyes of the Amaryllis - I thought this was building up to something substantial.

Look elsewhere for a haunting ghost story. This one is more about family, longing, obsession and personality types. Not bad, but not what I expected from the description/marketing.

Edit 06/05/2024:
This is how it was reviewed in Books for Keeps, 4 Sept 1980:
The Eyes of the
Amaryllis
Natalie Babbitt, Lions,
0006716547, 75p
If you know this author's other
work, Amaryllis resembles
Tuck Everlasting rather than
the more accessible Search for
Delicious (also in Lions). The
setting is nineteenth-century
New England. Jenny visits her
grandmother on the coast,
searching the tides for a sign
from her thirty-years-drowned
grandfather. But when it
comes, the sea's tragic
messenger demands it back —
or else. To use it properly, you
must know the book and your
pupils. Left lying around, it'll
bore most kids but now and
again you might find someone
who'll appreciate its subtle
moods and tensions enough to
reach the exciting climax.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my Children's Literature class we talked a lot about children's books following the "home-away-home" model, which refers to the plot most children's books follow where a child (or young animal/plant/creature a child can relate to) is bored by being at home (think Where the Wild Things Are) and leaves, has an adventure, and comes home at the end realizing that this is where he/she/it belongs and truly wants to be. I was distraught to think that this is the message we are very predominantly giving our children, that home is always safest and best. Aren't we supposed to be encouraging them to step outside the nest, to try their wings? Then again, we do want them to know they're loved when and if they come back home ... but then again, we don't want them living with us well into their 20's, being completely dependent on this love and taking advantage of it! Where lies the balance? The balance lies here, in my opinion, in The Eyes of the Amaryllis by Natalie Babbitt. Jenny leaves home only at the only possible excuse when her parents can no longer be excused for keeping her from her Grandmother's house at the sea, because her Grandmother has broken her ankle and "needs help around the house." She's 11 and is just tickled pink at the grown-up-ness of this task. But this is not your typical home-away-home plot. Jenny CHANGES while visiting her Grandmother. She doesn't just get homesick and realize home is best, she comes home a new, more grown-up young lady, ready to "take on her world," if you will. She takes the sea back with her, etched in her hands and face in such a way that it will change her future "at-home" life, making it, and her, more interesting, and more able to "test her wings." She learns more about her family, and much more about herself. Absolutely wonderful read!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very odd book. A reader has to be into contemporary fantasy... Gran has faith in a world all around our everyday one, but it's not fairies nor scary... I'm not at all sure I understand the point. The primary theme of the story is related to Gran's son, Jenny's father, and has to do with fear and security. But there must be others that have to do with whether Seward is a ghost or what the heck is going on.

Though a very short book, it's just inaccessible to me.

I do love many of Babbitt's other books and actually reread them every decade or so... it's probably about time I do so again.

This one is on openlibrary.org and I recommend that you try it for yourself.

[Cecilia Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Tuck Everlasting, more lyrical and haunting than most children's books. I didn't find the plot as satisfying as Tuck, but was impressed by the writing and a little surprised by the subtlety and maturity of the book's ideas. I wonder how I missed this one as a kid, especially since I adored Tuck Everlasting.

[Sharon Ouderkirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie Babbitt is a wonderful writer, and picking up a novel by her is a guarantee of an interesting read. The Eyes of Amaryllis takes place in the late 1800s (date not specified) and tells the story of Jenny who is staying with her grandmother while Gran recovers from a broken ankle. Gran is a widow. Her husband's ship, The Amaryllis, sank in the ocean not far from where Gran lives and she spends her time looking for some kind of sign from her dead husband. She haunts the beaches looking through what the ocean tides leave behind, and she needs Jenny to help her in this task, now that her ankle is broken. Gran is a woman obsessed - with her lost husband, with the sea, with her belief that life consists of more than what can be seen and touched. It soon becomes apparent that Jenny also is in tune with the mysterious ghostly presences, and the two of them work together to find the 'sign' from Gran's husband.
As the title suggests, the book is about perception, ways of seeing the world, ways of seeing beyond the material world. Gran idealizes her dead husband at the expense of those who are alive, and the story arc of the book both explores her sensitivity to ghostly realities and expands her reality to include the demands of the living. It is Jenny who is at the beginning of her life who sways her grandmother away from the pull of the dead, and toward the pressing realities of daily life. It is a well-written and gripping psychological tale.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fabulous fairy-tale feel middle grade story from Babbitt. I continually love the way she describes her settings and her characters. This novel leans a little more into magical realism than I'm normally comfortable with, but I was enjoying Babbitt's descriptions of the ocean so much that I honestly didn't mind. I've noticed that she tends to tell stories that deal with the passage of time, and The Eyes of the Amaryllis is no different. It is a 19th century tale told 30 years after the disappearance of the main character Jenny's grandfather. Jenny's grandmother has broken her ankle and needs some help and company while she heals, in her cottage by the ocean. The magic, whimsy, and charm of the ocean draws Jenny into its embrace, along with her grandmother's tales of lost ships, drowned lovelorn sailors and sunken treasure. It's an enjoyable, atmospheric story about family and letting go of the past. I highly recommend it if you love Babbitt and her storytelling style- this is one you shouldn't miss!

[Selah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a comment on Instagram recently claiming this book was even better than Tuck Everlasting, so I had to check it out. While this is beautifully written, it doesn’t come anywhere close to being as thought provoking as Tuck.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of odd; I'm not sure how to rate it. Well written, but kind of misses the mark in the ending for me.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sea as antagonist. Beautiful figurative language. Mysterious plot is a little simple.

[Clare Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just sat and read this 128 page juvenile fiction book all afternoon/evening because Natalie Babbitt writes so beautifully and I was eager to see how the whole story played out. Just like her Tuck Everlasting, this is an intense, meaningful read that I love. This one is a simpler story, I thought, but still very lovely.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

An altogether remarkable book. Natalie Babbitt has achieved the near-impossible: she describes the immense power of the sea ("No matter how old you grow or how important on the land, no matter how powerful or beautiful or rich, the sea does not care a straw for you. That frail grip you keep on the wisp of life that holds you upright--the sea can turn it loose in an instant") and then she writes a story that contains those immeasurable boundaries. As a kid, I would have loved this story about the drowned captain's widow Geneva Read and her namesake granddaughter Jenny searching from a sign from beyond: the waves. The romance of the story is probably most appealing to adolescent girls.

[Megan Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

After falling in love with Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, I had hoped that ALL her books would offer the same magic. No such luck.

This book wasn't BAD. I even feel bad giving it only 2 stars when there are lots of very poorly written books that I give 2 stars to. This was not poorly written. It just didn't meet my expectations, I suppose.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book forever ago, but the ending will be with me always. . . Natalie Babbitt writes some very strange, very interesting books, doesn't she?

[Martha Trzepacz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew I wanted to read more of Natalie Babbitt's work after rereading Tuck Everlasting. This book did not disappoint. She has a way of writing about the sea and about loss that is just remarkable.

[Melissa Vinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second Natalie Babbit book and I think I’ve found a new favorite author! I’m not completely sure how I managed to miss her books, as they were published during my elementary school years, but I’m so glad I finally stumbled across this author!

This tale is set in 1880 and the mysterious and atmospheric mood drew me in right away. Thirty years before, Geneva Reade’s sea captain husband drowned when his ship, The Amaryllis, went down in a storm just off the coast, while Geneva and her 10 year old son, George, watched helplessly from the bluff. No part of the ship (nor any of its crew) ever washed ashore after the fateful drowning, and ever since, Geneva has been obsessed with watching for a sign, or a gift, from her dead husband. She strolls up and down the beach in front of their cottage, where his ship sank, every day at high tide, regardless of the weather or time of day, searching for a sign. But she is not alone. A mysterious stranger strolls along this same beach, watching as well.

Eleven year old Jenny is going to spend three weeks with her eccentric Gran in her cottage on the Atlantic coast, helping out around the house while Gran’s broken ankle heals. Gran actually broke her ankle while searching the beach for a mysterious sign from her dead husband, and since she won’t move inland with her son George and his family while her ankle mends, George is sending his daughter Jenny to stay with her. Jenny soon forms a close bond with her quirky grandmother. Every day, Gran consults the almanac for the times of the high tide and Jenny takes her grandmother’s place, searching the beach, in sunshine or rain, for what, she doesn’t know.

Over the course of the three weeks, Jenny learns much about her Gran and the love she still has for her deceased husband, as well as why her father and grandmother have such an estranged relationship. I’d love to say more, but I don’t want to give anything away! Once again, Babbit has whisked me away with her beautiful, descriptive writing. I felt like I was right there with Gran and Jenny, enjoying the ocean breeze and feeling the spray in my face as the waves lapped at my feet. Beautiful and mesmerizing. I highly recommend this book!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that the grandmother had so much depth to her character. At the opening of the book, I jumped to the conclusion that she was going to be some sort of model of wisdom and would be the guiding light for the main character (the child). But she struggled with her own trauma to the point that she endangered the child. It was refreshing to be reminded that old folks have a rich inner life as well as anyone else. It was comforting and inspiring. The hero of the book was a wonderful twist that tied everything up so nicely. And let's face it, the reason that I am adult who reads middle grade novels is that I need that nicely tied up ending that contains hope. I need it more than the target audience. The writing was so amazing bc there was no initial hook to draw me in, and yet, the tension seemed to slowly and silently press in on me until I simply couldn't wiggle out from reading the next page and the next and the next. I had to keep reading and reading. And thank goodness for the way Natalie Babbitt constructed the ending. Otherwise I would still be waiting to exhale.

[RebL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a ghost story for middle-grades, set in the mid-1800s. Grandpa was a sailor whose ship was lost in a hurricane before Gran and her son's eyes. Gran has been waiting steadfastly for a sign from him ever since. Any day now, surely something will come.

I first read this book when it was assigned to me in fifth grade in 1979-1980, when we were all about the same age as Jenny, the granddaughter, in the story, and I loved it: both the mystery and the strangeness of the Maine seacoast compared to Central Arkansas, and the story stuck with me for some time. Then I forgot about for years, then remembered it again, and about a year ago I found a library discard copy at the book sale and snatched it up. And this month, in honor of Spooky Season, I read it to the 12YO at bedtime, who ultimately did not enjoy it nearly as much as I did.

He says "3 out of 5, good world-building but the title of the book doesn't even come into play until the second act, and Gran never realized that she was in the wrong and she needed to let go and move on." It's a 4 out of 5 for me, though.

[Carrie Brownell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Natalie Babbitt. Reading her books is like reading candy...but really, really high quality stuff. The finest chocolate bites. I was browsing my bookshelves for quick end-of-the-year reads and remembered I had some Babbitt books I hadn't gotten to. This one absolutely did not disappoint! Her stories are other-worldly and magical. Usually they contain some nugget of truth or a message to pass along to the reader. In the case of The Eyes of the Amaryllis we were here to learn about the effects of long lasting love and sacrifice. We learned about confusing family relationships and how healing can take place.

A beautiful story and very well-told. If you are a Babbitt fan, don't miss this!

[Taya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great, but I felt like not much happened or the ending wasn’t what I wanted. Basically the whole story was the gran spent the rest of her life looking for signs that her husband may have sent and disregards her son and puts her granddaughter at risk just because of the statue’s head, which was sent by her sailor husband? Nothing definitively happened in the end really. I guess that I get the writing was leading the readers to a bigger plot twist/change in plot.

Besides the storyline, the descriptions of the sea and landscape were beautiful, as it is in all of Babbitt’s writings. There is a wistful, eerie, and nostalgic feeling to this story.



Note to self: I read this book solely with a physical book.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm sure I don't think of myself as one whit different from what I used to be" (pg. 54). Well isn't that the truth! We age physically but not always mentally...in the best way!
This is one of those books I really liked because of how it made me feel, but I can't put to words why. I just liked the story. Simple as that. I like multi-generational stories and I love women with spunk (sorry Lou Grant!) The story was sweet, not overly developed and not thoroughly resolved, but it still worked. A bit mystical/magical but not as dire as the back cover makes it seem. Short and sweet little read.

[Jacqui Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Atmospheric and mysterious story that evokes the magic and wonder of the ocean, and at times this book was also quite bewitching.
I love Natalie Babbitt’s writing style, you become totally invested in the characters and although you are wanting to eventually reach the conclusion to find out what happens to these characters you have grown to love, you are also tinged with sadness when you know that it is over. Which Natalie Babbitt to go to next?