Pirates

To Capture The Wind

In a risky plan to free her kidnapped lover, Oonagh cleverly solves the evil pirate king’s riddles, unites the princess Ethne with her lover, and invents sails.

X Doesn’t Mark the Spot: Tales of Pirate Gold, Buried Treasure, and Lost Riches

Anyone who has fantasized about becoming fabulously rich overnight can relate to this collection of treasure hunt stories–tales of buried pirate gold, of hidden outlaw loot, of wrecked ships loaded with valuable coins and jewels, and of “lost” gold mines. Some of the stories are tall tales based on little evidence. Many a dreamer wasted money, energy and perhaps even a lifetime chasing after a pot of gold that did not exist. But some hidden treasures are real, even if the stories about them are exaggerated. Many of the stories came down to us from an age in which pirates were said to be in league with the devil and supposedly used black magic to protect their hidden plunder.

Ed Butts’s tales of adventure, of shattered hopes, and, occasionally, of dreams come true expose the greed and the challenges that motivated the searchers. A few of them got lucky. But X didn’t mark the spot for most of these adventurers–and that means undiscovered treasures still lie ready to ignite the imagination.

Marooned: The Strange But True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk

In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was voyaging across the South Pacific when, after arguing with the ship’s captain, he was put ashore—alone—on an uninhabited island. Equipped with little more than a musket and his wits, Selkirk not only survived in complete solitude for more than four years, but came to be quite comfortable and happy. After being rescued by a British privater in 1709, he took a leading role in several dramatic captures of merchant ships. Although he returned to civilization a rich man,he couldn’t find a place in society and always longed to return to the paradise of his island. Selkirk’s well-documented adventures so inspired Daniel Defoe that they became the basis for his perennial classic, Robinson Crusoe. Author’s note, glossary, bibliography,index.

Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl’s Adventure upon the High Seas

Artemesia is the daughter of a pirate queen, and she’s sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping from the school, she hunts up her mother’s crew and breezily commands them out to sea in a leaky boat. Unfortunately, Art’s memories of her early life may not be accurate-her seasick crew are actors, and Art’s infamous mother was the darling of the stage in a pirate drama. But fiery, pistol-proof Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate crew afloat. And when they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl, Art is certain that her memories are real. The Seven Seas aren’t large enough for two pirate queens: Art will have the battle of her life to win her mother’s title–and the race for the most fabulous treasure in pirate lore.

A High Wind in Jamaica (New York Review Books Classics)

Richard Hughes’s celebrated short novel is a masterpiece of concentrated narrative. Its dreamlike action begins among the decayed plantation houses and overwhelming natural abundance of late nineteenth-century Jamaica, before moving out onto the high seas, as Hughes tells the story of a group of children thrown upon the mercy of a crew of down-at-the-heel pirates. A tale of seduction and betrayal, of accommodation and manipulation, of weird humor and unforeseen violence, this classic of twentieth-century literature is above all an extraordinary reckoning with the secret reasons and otherworldly realities of childhood.

Piratica II : Return To Parrot Island

Art Blastside has escaped the hangman’s noose, become a national celebrity, and married her true love. But life ashore is far too dull for a pirate queen. so Art jumps at the chance to go back to sea. England is at war with the French, and the government wants Piratica and her crew to harass the enemy.

Larklight : A Rousing Tale Of Dauntless Pluck In The Farthest Reaches Of Space

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> <!–[endif]–>In an alternate Victorian England, young Arthur and his sister Myrtle, residents of Larklight, a floating house in one of Her Majesty’s outer space territories, uncover a spider plot to destroy the solar system.