The Enchanted Voyage

A working class carpenter HECTOR PECKET lives in the Bronx with his wife SARAH. Hector’s only escape from his humdrum life and his overbearing wife is the refuge of his cherished sailboat, the SARAH PECKET (named after his wife), which sits on wheels in his backyard. Hector fills his idle time working on the boat and dreaming of far off places. When Sarah announces she is selling the boat to make ends meet, Hector spends one last wistful night on his beloved ship. That evening a fierce wind blows, and the Sarah Pecket begins to move on its wheels. Grabbing control of the sail, Hector, with sheer delight, guides the boat down the street. Along the way he picks up a beautiful young woman MARY KELLY, a local waitress who also lives in a dream world. Her life, too, has been filled with loneliness and disappointment. When Hector announces he is sailing to the Caribbean, Mary, with nothing to lose, tags along. Their voyage takes them over a bridge and out of New York where they meet various characters. Meanwhile, Hector’s wife Sarah frantically searches for her husband, who, she now realizes, has been taken for granted. After a world-wind trip filled with adventures, a fierce rainstorm rears its enormous power. Hector guides his boat to a nearby lake, hoping to finally show off his pride’s sea worthiness. To his dismay the Sarah Pecket sinks straight to the bottom. After the local authorities rescue Hector, he is reunited with Sarah, who begs him to come home. Robert Nathan’s “The Enchanted Voyage” is a Walter Mitty fable about the importance of dreams, hope, desire, and the ridicule that can often follow.

About the Author: Author of such revered books as PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE BISHOP’S WIFE, MR. WHITTLE AND THE MORNING STAR, and STONECLIFF, Robert Nathan was born in New York City in 1894 and was educated at private schools in the United States and Switzerland. While attending Harvard University where he was a classmate with E.E. Cummings, Nathan was an editor of the Harvard Monthly, in which his first stories and poems appeared.

While at Cambridge, Nathan also found the time to become an accomplished cellist, a lightweight boxer, and Captain of the fencing team. After leaving college, Mr. Nathan devoted his time exclusively to writing until his passing in 1985. Early on, Nathan’s work strengthened his reputation with both the public and peers. F. Scott Fitzgerald once referred to Robert Nathan as his favorite writer. During this period, the legendary Louis B. Mayer contracted him to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. Nathan ultimately didn’t enjoy the experience, though the movie industry continually craved his work. Five of his novels have been made into films.
 
The aforementioned “Portrait of Jennie” and “The Bishop’s Wife,” as well as “One More Spring,” “Wake Up and Dream” (from the novel “The Enchanted Voyage”) and “Color of Evening.” Robert Nathan was the author of over fifty volumes of novels, poetry, and plays, and from this body of distinguished work he acquired a reputation as a master of satiric fantasy unique in American Letters. In the twilight of his career he was known as “The Dean of Author’s,” since many prominent writers including Irving Stone and Irving Wallace sought out Nathan’s guidance. A member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters for fifty years, Mr. Nathan called both Cape Cod and California home. Happily, his last fifteen years were spent in the companionship of his wife, English born actress, Anna Lee.