Dungeness, Paperback

Spanning the latter half of the nineteenth century, this coming-of-age novel unfolds in the form of a historian's notebook. Protagonist and narrator Millie Langlie (daughter of a S'Klallam maiden and a Norwegian mariner) is an adventurous girl with a curious mind. Guided by the gift of a pair of silver fish earrings, she unearths an anomalous Indian-on-Indian massacre and confronts her mother's secret love affair. Journeying from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Townsend and back again, Millie discovers how knowledge of the past can teach us to love, forgive, and forge a new path.

About author(s):Karen Polinsky is a high school English teacher and writer from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Twenty years ago, she encountered the nineteenth century S'Klallam historian Mary Ann Lambert. Her fascination with this woman of vision eventually turned into Dungeness, a revisionist-history coming-of-age novel inspired by her life. She is also a playwright, screenwriter, and recipient of the Patsy Collins Award for Environmental Educators.