Kings of the Sea by Joan Van Every Frost

Gideon Hand is cursed. Barely surviving his trip at sea, Gideon returns home to find that his fiancée has left him. Worse, when he takes a new wife, she turns out to be prudish and cold. His only salvation is his beautiful mistress, Elisabeth, but even their happiness seems sullied by the cruel judgement of her neighbours. For Gideon’s is a curse that steals love, health and happiness. It causes terrible shipwrecks, devastating fires, and breaks countless hearts. It drives men and women alike to madness. As the curse passes from generation to generation, it turns everything sweet in life into bitterness. But as each new character comes under its sway, can they find a way to break it and lead the lives they dream of? Kings of the Sea is a tightly-plotted, powerful love story, spanning the decades leading up to the twentieth century and beyond. ‘An epic, seafaring adventure’ – Richard Foreman Joan Van Every Frost was born in 1929 in California. Her first novel, This Firey Promise was published in 1978 and between that time and her death in 2012, she published several books, including Kings of the Sea in 1972. She was faithful supporter of many charities and wrote several screenplays in addition to her novels.

Paperback, 1982 Goodreads: 4.33