Mare Nostrum: A Novel

At the peak of his fame, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez wrote the novel Mare Nostrum (1918). Irish director Rex Ingram turned it into a silent film in 1926 with his American wife Alice Terry, a symbol of early cinema. The movie, thought to be lost for decades, has been recently found and restored.

Format: Hardback
Length: 380 pages
Publication date: 15 February 2022
Publisher: West Margin Press

"Mare Nostrum" (1918) is a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, published during the peak of his career as a renowned Spanish author. The book was adapted into a silent film in 1926 by Irish director Rex Ingram, featuring his American wife Alice Terry, an iconic figure in early cinema. For decades, the film was believed to be lost, but it has recently been rediscovered and restored.

"All that mankind had ever written or dreamed about the Mediterranean, the doctor had in his library and could repeat to his eager little listener. In Ferragut's estimation, the mare nostrum (Mare Nostrum (Our Sea), the classic name for the Mediterranean.) was a species of blue beast, powerful and of great intelligence—a sacred animal like the dragons and serpents that certain religions adored, believing them to be the source of life."

Raised in a proud Spanish family, Ulysses Ferragut is expected to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a doctor. Enamored with tales of the Mediterranean as told by his seafaring uncle, nicknamed the Triton, Ulysses chooses to become a sailor instead. As a young man, he finds success as the captain and owner of the freighter Mare Nostrum, but obligations to his wife and son force him to abandon his dream.

As the horrors of the First World War wreak havoc on Europe, the demand for shipping makes it impossible for Ulysses to resist a return to the sea. While in Italy, however, he finds more than he bargained for in the form of Freya Talberg, a beautiful Austrian who harbors a dangerous secret.

With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vicente Blasco Ibáñez's "Mare Nostrum" is a classic of Spanish literature reimagined for modern readers.

Dimension: 203 x 127 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781513135595