The Watter’s Mou’ • Bram Stoker

Mare Verlag is one of my absolute favorites, and I always follow their catalog and new releases closely. I love the Mare Classics — I own them all — and I’m especially enthusiastic about their editorial choices and the exquisite production quality. The series features lesser-known works by great authors, each with a connection to the sea, newly translated in full. Every book is bound in high-quality linen, comes with a slipcase, ribbon marker, and smooth paper. For a bibliophile, they’re a real pleasure and match my taste perfectly. At the end of 2018, Mare Verlag launched a new series of beautifully produced classics. These are smaller volumes, consisting of short stories and novellas. I reviewed the first volume, The Pavilion on the Links, at the time and found it excellent. The volumes that followed were ones I already owned in other forms, as they were taken from the larger series. The Watter’s Mou’ is the fourth volume, entirely new and previously unpublished elsewhere. Naturally, I had to have it. Whether Mare Verlag once again lives up to its reputation as a premium Triple-A publisher — you’ll find out in this post.

The blurb sounded very promising, and I was curious to see what kind of story awaited me. The setting is the rugged east coast of Scotland. William Barrow, an officer in the coastguard, is warned about smugglers — usually local fishermen who hide goods under their catch to supplement their meager income. His fiancée Maggie pleads for leniency, as her indebted father has been forced to smuggle goods past customs as well. Eventually, Maggie embarks on a dangerous adventure to do right by both her honorable fiancé and her father.

The story moves at a brisk pace, and I was quickly drawn into it. At just 149 pages, there isn’t much room to linger, and Stoker propels the plot forward efficiently. I found his language very pleasant — he writes with a poetic touch but doesn’t overdo it. The thoughts and scenes are clear and vivid before the mind’s eye. What I particularly enjoyed, once again, was the sea — its raw, magnificent presence, described so vividly and beautifully. Mare Verlag truly knows how to choose works that fit my taste perfectly; it’s simply brilliant. As you read, you feel the stormy waves, almost hear their roar, and immerse yourself completely in that unique maritime atmosphere — something I can hardly describe but deeply love, and which I find in nearly every Mare book. The atmosphere here is dense, reminiscent of works like The Toilers of the Sea.

Now and then a wave rolled in, greater than all its companions — called by the fishermen a “sailor’s wave” — coming on in all the majesty of unbridled power, covering for a moment the jagged whiteness of the flooded rocks and ploughing through the bay as though it were the bearer of a royal message from the ocean. (p. 144)

The story is consistently well-crafted, gripping, and even the ending satisfied me. It feels rounded and coherent. I was impressed by the occasional glimpses into the characters’ inner lives, which lend this short novel a pleasing depth. Admittedly, the story is not especially pointed and doesn’t deliver a dramatic twist — neither midway nor at the end. Yet that’s no flaw; overall, it convinces throughout.

Bram Stoker is, of course, best known for his world-famous novel Dracula. He was born in Ireland in 1847 and died in London in 1912. He worked as a theater manager for Henry Irving and also as a journalist and theater critic. He married Florence Balcombe, reportedly a very beautiful woman whom even Oscar Wilde once courted. Stoker also met Mark Twain and Walt Whitman, his favorite poet. So he kept good company, though he didn’t live to see the great success of Dracula.

The Watter’s Mou’, as the story is titled in the original, was first published in 1895 and is set in Cruden Bay, a small town north of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Stoker once went hiking there, fell in love with the place, and returned a year later — making it his regular holiday destination thereafter. If you Google images of the area, you’ll see why: it truly is a beautiful spot.

The afterword is once again excellent, offering interesting facts about Stoker’s life and the origins of this story. The translation, by Alexander Pechmann — who has translated numerous Mare Classics into German — is, as always, solid and flawless.

I also really like the design. The printed linen cover looks elegant and suits the content perfectly, with its depiction of a small boat and the sea-swept rock in the foreground. A thread binding is missing, but given the soft paper, beautiful linen cover, and well-chosen ribbon marker, that’s easily forgiven. I especially like the typography, which contrasts nicely with the sans-serif chapter headings.

Conclusion: For anyone who loves the unique mood of the sea, appreciates beautifully made books, and enjoys a short, cohesive, and well-told story, this book is perfect. The vividly atmospheric depiction of the stormy North Sea alone is a delight. Stoker masterfully tells a gripping tale in a style that is both poetic and clear. Visually, the book is once again gorgeous — the printed linen cover with its perfectly chosen motif rounds out the whole package. I thoroughly enjoyed this little book and find it highly recommendable. Unfortunately, this delightful but brief read lasts only one evening.

Book information: The Watter’s Mou’ • Bram Stoker • Mare Verlag • 173 pages • ISBN 9783866486133