The Tides of Barnegat, first published 1906 and made into a silent film in 1917, is a historical romance spanning the years from 1854 until 1874.
It has a highly melodramatic final chapter involving a tragic ship wreck and the newly organised U.S. Lifesaving Service.
Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838 – 1915) was an American author, artist and engineer. He built the foundation for the Statue of Liberty, wrote many stories and received awards for his paintings.