Dancing on the Brink of the World: A Novel of Alta California

An illuminating look at an adventurous life in colonial Alta California, Dancing on the Brink of the World is the imagined account of real-life British sailor Captain William A. Richardson after he is marooned in the San Francisco Bay.

In 1822, only a dilapidated Mexican Presidio and an aging Spanish mission offer shelter on the windswept sand dunes near San Francisco Bay. In this bleak place, a disgruntled British seaman, William Richardson, comes ashore to request provisions for his whalin...