Stephen Hayes on Faith, Doubt, and the Mystery of the Mary Celeste

In these complicated times, religion and science are clashing as never before. Stephen Hayes, author of Return of the Mary Celeste, speaks with Inflection about faith, doubt, miracles, and why the enduring mystery of a nineteenth-century ghost ship still matters now.

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Your novel sits at the intersection of historical mystery and spiritual inquiry. In a moment when people are turning back to religion in record numbers, what does Return of the Mary Celeste say to that impulse?

In these complicated times, religion and science are clashing as never before. People are turning away from science and embracing religion in numbers thought improbable only a few years ago. Return of the Mary Celeste speaks to a quest for understanding in a world that is becoming more volatile and harder to navigate. How about you? Are you rejecting an outdated belief system or are you taking comfort in traditional forms of religion?

The book raises a question that doesn't lend itself to easy answers: the existence of God. How do you hold that question as a novelist without resolving it?

Is there a God? If so, does He involve Himself with human concerns or did He create everything like a celestial clockmaker, setting everything in motion before leaving us on our own? While it's true that the Bible was written by iron-age people who didn't know where the sun went at night, might it still shine as a beacon in the dark to show us the way?

You stayed remarkably close to the historical record of the Mary Celeste. How did that discipline shape the fiction?

While writing my book I was determined to not stray from the actual events surrounding the Mary Celeste, apart from the fictionalized account of a single crew member appearing after a hundred fifty-three years. The inexplicable disappearance of those aboard the ship involved real people in a real tragedy and I was determined to exploit these victims as little as possible by staying as close to the facts as possible, which meant eliminating much of the fiction and speculation heaped onto the Mary Celeste over the years.

You mention The Da Vinci Code as a point of reference. What draws you to stories that interrogate belief?

In The Da Vinci Code, Robert Langdon asks Sophie, the last living descendant of Jesus Christ, if it would be better to deny faith or embrace it. We don't actually get an answer, although the implication is that, rather than discouraging faith, she would encourage it.

If every interviewer could ask you one question about this book, what would you want it to be?

Do I believe in miracles? Have I ever experienced one?