Star of the Sea
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- See also: Stella Maris
Star of the Sea is a historical novel by the Irish writer Joseph O'Connor published in 2003. The novel is set in 1847 against the backdrop of the Irish famine.
The "Star of the Sea" of the title is a famine ship, making the journey from Ireland to New York. Aboard are hundreds of refugees, most of them with humble and desperate backgrounds. Key protagonists are David Merridith Lord Kingscourt, his wife Laura, their servant Mary, the ship's captain Josias Lockwood, a friendless Irishman named Pius Mulvey, and American journalist Grantley Dixon. The narrative of the novel is driven by a murder aboard the ship, though the victim and murderer are not known until late in the book.
The chapters of the novel are narrated alernately by the main protagonists, and their personal histories unfold in turn.
