September 25, 2013
The Spoil of Mariners
Of all the dangers that could befall a sailor, scurvy is perhaps the most frightening.
Read MoreRoundtable
Opinions and analysis from Lapham’s Quarterly writers and editors.
May 5, 2025
September 12, 2013
Pirates of Stage and Sea
In Jacobean England, bringing sea pirates to the stage was harder than bringing them to justice.
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August 30, 2013
From the Sea, Freedom
Micronations like Sealand represent the eternal human desire to be free of all rules except the ones made for one’s self.
Read MoreAugust 13, 2013
Hollywood’s Bathing Beauties
Mack Sennett anticipates Hollywood’s taste for window dressing.
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August 09, 2013
Terror on the Jersey Shore
The turn-of-the-century origins of shark hysteria.
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August 08, 2013
The Ladies’ Cabin
Sea travel became a more prominent part of a woman’s life in the nineteenth century, but was it an acceptable place for a lady?
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August 05, 2013
A Painted Ship Upon a Painted Ocean
On the high seas, the doldrums are a place where ships linger, unable to push forward through the too-calm sea. In literature, doldrums become synonymous with a particular kind of inert malaise.
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August 02, 2013
Underwater Impressions
Leni Riefenstahl’s final film was a wordless, undersea documentary—and her only film after the fall of the Nazi regime.
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July 28, 2013
The Fantastical Allure of the Space Whale
During the mid-twentieth century, the twin concerns of space exploration and environmentalism found a curious mascot: the space whale.
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August 07, 2023
Monumental Mistakes
2023:
Fitness instructor carves his girlfriend’s name into the Colosseum.
c. 1850:
Thompson of Sunderland makes his mark on Pompey’s pillar.
May 22, 2023
Revolutionary Lovebirds
2023:
Writers on strike search for romance at the picket line.
c. 1945:
Young communists engage in party matchmaking.