Ship Fever Summary

Dr. Lauchlin Grant lives in Quebec. His childhood friend Mrs. Susannah Rowley lives in a very expensive part of Quebec, and Grant visits her often. Lauchlin has a romantic interest in Susannah that is not reciprocated. Instead, she is in love with her husband Arthur Adam Rowley, a famous, wealthy, and influential newspaperman. The year is 1847, and Arthur Adam is in Ireland, writing newspaper articles about the severe Irish famine. Arthur Adam also sends letters to Lauchlin with some frequency, but does not often write to Susannah, his wife. Lauchlin calls on Susannah frequently and his presence causes the servants—loyal to Arthur Adam—to resent him. One servant in particular, Annie Taggert, finds Lauchlin's continuous presence socially objectionable. In their many discussions, Lauchlin confesses that his top-notch European medical training hasn't done him much good; that he does...