‘What a breathtaking journey! The perilous ship race, the treacherous weather, a mutinous uprising, the life-threatening illness of the captain, and most of all, the heroic efforts of his wife, Mary Ann Patten, as she steps into his shoes to become the first female captain to traverse the Southern Ocean, all while pregnant... A spellbinding triumph of storytelling and rewriting a valiant woman back into the historical narrative where she belongs. Everyone should read this book!’ Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of Queens of Crime‘An epic tale of courage, fortitude, and grit, brilliantly narrated in this deeply researched and compelling account.’ Siddharth Kara, Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Cobalt Red and The Zorg‘Mary Ann, the captain's wife, nineteen and pregnant, is forced to take over her husband’s ship mid-voyage. With no training, equipped only with nautical almanacs and how-to guides for sea navigation, and facing off a mutiny, she decides to put her cards on the table. The crew responds by anointing her their captain. It is the mid-1800s, and they are sailing straight into a monumental storm. Tilar J. Mazzeo has written a riveting story about a woman we might otherwise never know, and brilliantly sets it within a larger history about the upward mobility and wealth that the seas offered--and just as quickly took away. A fantastic read!’ Paulina Bren, author of She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street and The Barbizon: The Hotel that Set Women Free ‘Once an international sensation, then slipping into the mist of history, the story of nineteen-year-old Mary Ann Patten’s remarkable feat of seamanship has been rescued and brought to vivid life [...] and powerfully informed by Mazzeo’s own consummate knowledge of the sea.’ Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The Bounty ‘Expertly weaves together a touching love story and a gripping tale of survival. Mazzeo explores how passion, endurance, and a devoted partnership can overcome the odds, even in the most isolated and desperate circumstances. Through meticulous research and vivid descriptions, Mazzeo reveals how Mary Ann Patton's unwavering perseverance and brilliant navigation prevailed against the most formidable obstacles.’ Lydia Reeder, author of The Cure for Women'Captivating and immersive... Propelled by evocative writing and painstaking research, you feel transported into the world at home and at sea with the captain's wife, Mary Ann, as she rises to the occasion under harrowing circumstances. A remarkable story that deserves this definitive narrative.' Matthew Pearl, author of Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder‘A beautifully researched, evocative adventure of the high seas. In Mary Ann, unexpectedly called to lead, Tilar Mazzeo has found a true hero of the sea and brought her into vivid focus.’ Wyl Menmuir, author of The Draw of the Sea ‘Hear the wind whistle through the ropes, taste the salt spray and feel the roll of the ship as Tilar Mazzeo takes us into the tempest in the depths of the Southern Ocean. In this true-life epic, a young woman rises above convention and the elements to save ship, cargo, crew and her husband.’ Peter Fretwell, author of Antarctic Atlas ‘Forged upon the anvil of Cape Horn, this is a story that embraces all the time-tested bromides of men at sea: leadership, nautical knowhow, unyielding resolve and, above all, raw courage. But it is not about weathered old shellbacks, it’s about a nineteen-year-old “slip of a girl” who takes command of a clipper ship when her husband, the captain, collapses from tuberculosis during a storm off the continental tip of South America. In all nonfiction maritime literature, this is a story without parallel. I was spellbound to the last page. It captures everything that draws us to the sea.’ Mensun Bound, author of The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance ‘This thriller of a maritime history hooked me from the opening page, thanks to Mazzeo’s enthralling writing and research, which took her to Cape Horn and Antarctica to acquaint herself first-hand with the territory of this remarkable story … Mazzeo beautifully brings alive the raw courage of all seafarers in those under-sail times.’ Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller‘An incredibly thrilling slice of maritime history, To the Edge of the World tells the true story of Mary Ann Patten who after her captain husband fell sick steered a clipper ship with immensely valuable cargo through the most treacherous waters in the world.’ Waterstones‘Ms. Mazzeo is the kind of accomplished literary figure who makes you wish you’d paid better attention in school … one of the greatest stories of a bygone era.’ The Wall Street Journal‘Mazzeo writes with a no-nonsense crispness that feels appropriately shipshape. The fact that the author is an experienced sailor is also enormously helpful when it comes to explaining the challenges of the sea. She is, in short, an author capable of guiding her readers through this remarkable chapter of history — as competently as Captain Patten sailed her ship.’ The New York Times‘Tilar J. Mazzeo’s knowledgeable and entertaining new book blends a sharp-eyed portrait of a seafaring heroine with a vivid look at the rapidly changing city — Gold Rush-era San Francisco — for which she set sail … Mazzeo hopes that “a great sailing ship or a mighty destroyer” might one day be named for Mary Ann. Till then, this excellent book is as fine a testament as one could hope for.’ San Francisco Chronicle‘Mary Ann Patten’s commandeering of Neptune’s Car was remarkable, and makes for a rousing read.’ The Daily Telegraph ‘In this thrilling, painstaking book Mazzeo recounts one of the most celebrated episodes in American maritime history … Mazzeo’s great achievement is to make us feel the deathly quiet, the creak of timbers, the silent prayers – not to mention the awful sick feeling that comes with not knowing if you are going to drown in the next five minutes … Mazzeo has written a white-knuckle ride of a book.’ Daily Mail ‘Think non-fiction can’t be as thrilling as fiction? Then I’m willing to bet you’ll revise that opinion after you’ve read my new book choice this week. To the Edge of the Storm by American-Canadian writer and historian Tilar J. Mazzeo had me hooked from the opening page. You can all but feel the force of the sea spray, and hear the howling gales as you read it. And you finish it humbled by the bravery with which the real people who feature in its pages, tackle challenges almost unimaginable to us today.’ Caroline Sanderson, What to Read New‘Lyrically written and brimful of derring–do, Mazzeo’s tale is a true story that reads like a thrilling adventure as Mary Ann takes the helm when her husband falls ill, and sails the ship from Cape Horn to the wild seas of the Antarctica, determined to survive at all costs.’ The Simple Things‘Astonishing, shocking and outstanding … a breathtaking tale of adventure and tragedy, and a fantastic book to start the year off!’ Tom Stanger’s World‘Fearsomely evocative … Rarely have I read a book that has taught me so much about its subject, from navigating the ocean currents through Maury’s oceanographic charts to signalling with coded flags … It reads like the stuff of cinematic fantasy; surely, another film contract beckons for the author.’ Country Life‘Icebergs, ferocious storms and a mutinous crew feature in Mary Ann Patten’s little-known but epic journey … To the Edge of the World rips along through Penobscot Bay in New England and the floating brothels of Hong Kong, the hull-coppering yards of Liverpool and shipwreck-strewn Devil’s Teeth islands off American’s western seaboard.’ Radio Times‘An absolutely brilliant book.’ Dr Sam Willis, The Mariner's Mirror Podcast‘It’s 1856, and your ship is nearing Drake’s Passage. The weather darkens, the captain falls ill, and there’s a mutiny brewing. Who can save you? Why, the captain’s teenage wife. Few histories are as thrilling as Mazzeo’s, in which Mary Ann Patten somehow rescues the clipper and all its souls from a watery grave.’ The Daily Telegraph, Summer Reads 2026
