Tells the evocative story of a young teenager born to an unmarried mother and living is Grimsby - a cold grey fishing port in England mid 19th Centrury.
 
Her father - a Danish fisherman - after a brief affair with her mother, returns to his home in SKAGEN promising to return and marry her but the returning vessel is shipwrecked and LARS her father, is drowned leaving the hapless mother destitute now knowing if he will ever come back for her.  Bringing up her daughter is difficult and because Marianne is born out of wedlock, everyone in the town treats them with scorn.  Her mother is in poor health and is dying but extracts a promise from her daughter that she will go to SKAGEN with a leter and try to find her father.  With what little money she has, and after a nightmare journey in a fishing vessel, she eventually reaches Denmark and makes her way to  SKAGEN.  All she has is her mother's letter and his name LARS CHRISTENSEN.  Travelling to the village is treacherous, but on the way, she is helped by three young people  ---- HANNA, MIKKA and PETER.  Having learned from them that her father has died, she decides to stay in SKAGEN and try to find work --- this she does and is determined to realise her dreams of being an artist.  She also determines to find what family she has in SKAGEN -- if any.
 
This is a most compelling tale of hardship, determination and love.  The author writes graphically of the experiences of this young person.  I would urge readers of all ages, teens and older, to place this as a MUST READ.
 
As a grandmother I found it very enjoyable and would love one day to visit Denmark and find the area that has been written about in this tale.
 
The two seas referred to in the title are SKAGERAK and KATEGATT.
 
Ann MacNab