PRINT SOURCE: Thomas Raddall Fonds, Correspondence. From Thomas Raddall to Thomas B. Costain, 16 October 1962. MS-2-202 39.14.
Subject HeadingsIn the fall of 1962, T. H. Raddall responds to a letter from one of his Doubleday editors, Thomas Costain. After urging Costain to write his memoirs, Raddall reports that he wants to focus on the age of sail for his next historical novel. He then proceeds to outline the colourful histories of the brig "Mary Celeste" and the barque "Herbert Fuller". He concludes that the little known murders on the "Herbert Fuller" had more potential than the well documented story of the "Mary Celeste".
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October 16th,1962 Mr. Thos. Costain50 Riverside Drive New York Dear Tom, It was good to hear from you again, and to know that you are still going strong with work and plans. But why do you say there is no chance of an autobiography? Your own life has been as fascinating as any told in recent years, and far more so than many of the memoirs put before the public. Do think it over. I'm still searching for a novel theme that has to do with Nova Scotia. Amongst other things, as George Nelson1 mentioned to you, I've dug up the whole story of the "Mary Celeste" from the time she was built until she was wrecked on a Haitian reef, many years after the famous episode of her abandonment off the Azores. As you know, many people have written about the mystery of that affair; few or none have even touched upon the rest of her story. I found that she was a hoodoo2 ship from the time she was launched. However, it would be impossible to write a novel dealing with the whole life of the ship: and to write one about the disappearance of her skipper and crew in the North Atlantic would merely add to the welter of books on that subject. Amongst other interesting subjects, not touched upon by any author to my knowledge, I came upon the mystery of the barque Herbert Fuller, which put into Halifax in the summer of 1896. She was towing, in a boat astern, the bodies of her captain, the captain's wife, and the second mate. All had been killed with an axe, at night. Investigation at Halifax, and later in an exciting court trial in Boston, proved that only two men could have done it, the helmsman, and the mate Thomas Bram. Each accused the other. Eventually Bram was convicted and given a life sentence. In 1913 he was paroled by President Taft, on grounds that his chief accuser, the helmsman, had a criminal record. In 1919 President Wilson gave him a com- plete pardon. So who killed the three others? A first class mystery. The crew were an amazing collection of dolts and, cowards, except for the Negro steward; and the only passen- ger was a young Harvard student, on a voyage for his health. In fact the whole cast of characters, as brought out in the trial, was like something from the mind of Eugene O'Neill.3 |
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1. THR is likely referring to George E. Nelson, publisher and president of Doubleday Canada Ltd.