Synopsis "Our Seas of Fear and Love (in English)"
Our Seas of Fear and Love is a romance-family saga set primarily in Maine but also in Europe, Boston, and the Southwest. Calm and stormy seas are emblematic of the characters, their influence upon one another, and the conflicts and love expressed among the four main characters - Brigit, Deirdre, Gregory and Étienne Moreau, a man who searches out art treasures to sell to museums. Étienne takes as his partner Deirdre, a dark haired, vivacious beauty he meets during World War II when she was an OSS member and he was head of a Maquis group. Brigit, an extremely attractive red-haired woman and nurse cares for Gregory wounded during the war and who becomes a well-known medical researcher. Gregory and Brigit have fallen in love and plan their marriage. Deirdre then sets her sight on Gregory, ignoring her lover and partner Étienne, and a conflict occurs between the two women. In the end, the effects of love triumph in contrast to vainness that damages self and others as the seas of fear and love engulf all. About the Author: Richard Shain Cohen of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is originally from Boston. He retired from the University of Maine at Presque Isle after serving as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor of English. He holds B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. He served as editor of the journal Husson Review and was principal participant in a National Endowment for the Arts Grant for "Images of Aroostook" that was exhibited throughout the State of Maine. His own publications include: Healing After Dark: Pioneering Compassionate Medicine at the Boston Evening Clinic (2011), The Forgotten Longfellow: Man in the Shadows (2010), Only God Can Make a Tree, poetry from himself and his brother, Alfred Robert Cohen; and the novels Our Seas of Fear and Love, Monday: End of the Week, Be Still, My Soul, and Petal on a Black Bough. He also wrote chapters for Aroostook: Land of Promise, academic reviews, other articles, and - with the help of a Shell Grant - a monograph on Samuel Richardson that can be found in major library holdings.
