Join us on Zoom to learn about the harrowing adventure of Old North congregant Mary Ann Patten, the first female captain of a merchant ship.
The New York Times bestselling author Tilar J. Mazzeo will deliver a fascinating talk about her popular book The Sea Captain’s Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love and Adventure at the Bottom of the World. The book details the true story of Mary Ann Patten, the first female captain of a merchant ship, who navigated the treacherous waters of Antarctica in 1856.
Born into a New England seafaring family, Mary Ann worshiped at Old North Church as a child and attended the Sunday School. At 19 years old, Mary Ann and her husband, Captain Joshua Patten, embarked on a sea journey to San Francisco to pursue their dream of building a farm and a family. This fateful trip would take them through the most dangerous waters in the world.
During their voyage, Joshua fell deathly ill and was confined to his bunk, delirious. The treacherous first mate, locked in the brig for insubordination, was agitating for mutiny. With no obvious option for a new captain, Mary Ann stepped into the breach and convinced the crew to support her, just as they slammed into a gale that would last 18 days. Determined to save the ship, the crew, and their future, she faced down the deadly waters of Drake’s Passage.
Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and taking us to the brink of Antarctica, The Sea Captain’s Wife finally gives Mary Ann Patten her due. Tilar will discuss the new archival research she conducted from 19th-century women’s maritime journals and on her own expedition to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in search of Mary Ann’s route. Thrilling, harrowing, and heroic, Mary Ann’s story is one of a woman who, for love, would do what was necessary to survive.
TILAR J. MAZZEO is the author of more than a half-dozen award-winning biographies and works of cultural history, including the New York Times bestselling The Widow Clicquot, now a major motion picture. She began her career as a tenured professor, holding positions at universities in the United States and Canada for more than twenty years. Dr. Mazzeo left the academy in 2021 to pursue full-time writing. She lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
Old North Illuminated’s 2026 Speaker Series events are brought to you in part by Hub Town Tours.
