Eugene O'Neill is considered one of America's greatest playwrights. O'Neill biographers, literary scholars, and theatrical practitioners acknowledge the importance of O'Neill's maritime background and experience to his work, but this is the first study to bring the perspective of maritime history and culture to a review of his life and plays. Robert Richter, a long-time student of O'Neill's work, looks at the maritime history of New London, Connecticut, where O'Neill spent summers, the details of O'Neill's experience in sailing and steamships, and his Provincetown experiences before tracing elements of these connections in the plays.