Fishwife

The Tide's Bargain

The fishwife worked the cold harbors of the North Sea and Atlantic coasts, gutting and selling the day's catch, baiting lines, and mending nets while the men were at sea. Famed for a sharp tongue and a sharper head for bargaining, she knew the tides, the weather, and the worth of every haul, and her trade fed the port towns that herring and cod built.