Nantucket (known locally as “the Gray Lady” because of its frequent fog) is a small island located about 30 miles (50km) south of Cape Cod. Its population has fluctuated widely over the centuries, but there are now about 10,000 residents, many of them wealthy writers, artists, actors, businessmen and politicians. Its population swells five-fold with tourists and temporary cottagers in summer months.

English farmers and seafarers began to settle in the mid-1600s, but by the end of that century whaling had become its ... (more)