Summary

Chapter 1 is titled “In One Piece.” Faith Sunderly gets her first look at the island Vane from the crowded deck of a mail boat that doubles as a ferry. Her younger brother Howard is seated on her lap and she is seated on the box that contains her father's pet snake. There is very limited spaced that provides protection from the rain, and Faith's mother Myrtle is politely but ruthlessly ensuring her family and their belongings are all covered. Myrtle drops the name of Faith's father, “the Reverend Erasmus Sunderly, renowned naturalist” (2) as her justification. Faith is embarrassed by her mother's actions, but Myrtle apparently is not. Faith's uncle, Miles Cattistock, is dozing. Her father, Erasmus, is on deck but is clearly not at ease. Howard adores Myrtle but Faith has become less enamored because, on the brink of adulthood at 14, she is...