The Mattapoisett Historical Society will present a lecture on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. by Helen Hiller Frink, author of “Oil, Ice and Bone Arctic Whaler Nathaniel Ransom.” Frink is descended from two Mattapoisett whaling families but only recently began researching their history.

In “Oil, Ice and Bone,” Frink tells the story of Mattapoisett’s own Nathaniel Ransom who survived the worst whaling disaster in the history of the New England fleet, when captains and crew abandoned 33 vessels, trapped and crushed by drifting ice, off the Alaskan coast.

Ransom’s eyewitness account of his four voyages depicts whaling’s brutal slaughter and sudden losses.

This story opens a window on the life of an ordinary whale man during the heyday of the Arctic bowhead hunt.

Frink is the author of numerous scholarly articles and four books, two of them town histories.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Hampshire, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago.

The lecture is free, donation encouraged. The historical society is located at 5 Church St. For information, call 508-758-2844 or visit www.mattapoisetthistoricalsociety.org.