Ship of Fools

A Novel

Katherine Anne Porter

• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781504003537
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

This "dazzling" National Book Award finalist set aboard an ocean liner in 1931 reflects the passions and prejudices that sparked World War II ( San Francisco Chronicle ). August 1931. An ocean liner bound for Germany sets out from the Mexican port city of Veracruz. The ship's first-class passengers include an idealistic young American painter and her lover; a Spanish dance troupe with a sideline in larceny; an elderly German couple and their fat, seasick bulldog; and a boisterous band of Cuban medical students. As the Vera journeys across the Atlantic, the incidents and intrigues of several dozen passengers and crew members come into razor-sharp focus. The result is a richly drawn portrait of the human condition in all its complexity and a mesmerizing snapshot of a world drifting toward disaster. Written over a span of twenty years and based on the diary Katherine Anne Porter kept during a similar ocean voyage, Ship of Fools was the bestselling novel of 1962 and the inspiration for an Academy Award–winning film starring Vivien Leigh. It is a masterpiece of American literature as captivating today as when it was first published more than a half century ago. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Katherine Anne Porter, including rare photos from the University of Maryland Libraries.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Author’s Note
• Contents
• Cast of Characters
• Part I: Embarkation
• Part II: High Sea
• Part III: The Harbors
• A Biography of Katherine Anne Porter
• Copyright Page