The Lifeboat.

• Author: Winchenbach, Linda L.

The Lifeboat By Charlotte Rogan

Set in 1914, Charlotte Rogan's novel The Lifeboat is a compelling adventure tale of struggle against the sea's heartless elements, but it is also the story of the personality and power struggles within an overcrowded lifeboat adrift for three weeks after the ocean liner Empress Alexandra sank. It quickly becomes apparent that Grace Winter, the narrator, is being tried in England for an event occurring during the ordeal, and her journal of recollections is prepared to help her attorney.

Grace's interactions with others in the boat and the knowledge she is near death are personal conflicts. The people must cooperate, yet each is alone. Grace looks and hopes for leadership and salvation from John Hardie, the only seaman aboard, but one woman in particular claims she can do better. Ultimately, Grace believes she must choose.

Grace is cunning and, frankly, one wonders how much of her narrative is true and how much she has written to serve her purposes. Still, she grows somewhat in her understanding of others' weaknesses and the...