I think THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA is one of the saddest books I have ever read. John is a widower and is trying to raise his ten year old daughter, Tabitha, in the shoreline town of Beaufort in North Carolina. When his daughter, Tabitha, becomes gravely ill with yellow fever, he will try anything to save her life. John believes that the sea can heal his daughter so he boards a ship bound for the Caribbean in the hopes that exposure to some fresh air will cure his child. This part of the story, with a single father dealing with a sick child, was profoundly sad.

The second part of the story flashes back to John's wife, Helen, and her early life as she is also raised by a single father. Helen's own mother died in childbirth and her father, Asa, struggles to nurture and provide for his only child. John meets Helen when his Revolutionary War regiment is stationed near her home in North Carolina. Although Asa does not approve of Helen and John's marriage, the two men eventually reach a state of mutual understanding and respect. Each of them has been widowed and is trying to raise a child.

One of the peculiar parts of the story is Helen's relationship with a slave named Moll. When Helen is ten years old her father gives Moll as a gift. Helen and Moll grow up together and the lines between slave and owner are blurred. The two women act more like siblings than as servant and owner as they play together, fight and share secrets. I was surprised that some of Moll's poor attitude was tolerated by Helen and her father.

The final part of THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA describes Asa and John's grief and the different ways in which they deal with their loss. Asa essentially becomes a recluse and cuts himself off from most of society and John heads out west for a change of scenery. THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA has a melancholy tone throughout the story. It serves to remind us that, at least in the 18th century, life can be cruel without any glimmer of hope.