The Weight of Water was published by Little, Brown in 1997. Jean Janes, a photojournalist, sails to Smuttynose Island in the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire to photograph the site of a real historical crime: the 1873 murders of Anethe and Karen Christensen, two Norwegian immigrant women killed with an axe. Louis Wagner, a local fisherman, was convicted and executed for the murders, but Jean’s research leads her to suspect that the real killer was Maren Hontvedt, the women’s sister-in-law, who claimed to have survived the attack by hiding in a cave.
The historical narrative, told through Maren’s own account (a fictional document that Shreve constructs with period-appropriate language), unfolds alongside the modern story of Jean’s sailing trip with her husband Thomas, his brother Rich, and Rich’s girlfriend Adaline. Jean’s marriage is failing — Thomas is attracted to Adaline, Jean is consumed by her research — and the parallel between the two narratives builds toward a climax in which the weight of water (the ocean, the rain, the tears) threatens to overwhelm both stories.
Kathryn Bigelow directed a film adaptation in 2000, starring Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, and Elizabeth Hurley.
Collecting The Weight of Water
First edition (Little, Brown, Boston, 1997): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $30–$80
- Very good/very good: $10–$30
- Signed: $50–$150