Captain Scraggs: or, The Green Pea Pirates

by Peter B. Kyne, Gordon Grant (Illustrator)

From the dust
This sea yarn recounts the adventures of three rapscallion sea-faring men,—Captain Scraggs, owner of the green vegetable freighter Maggie, Gibney the mate and McGuffey, the engineer.

One foggy night, when the Maggie, full laden, was approaching the Golden Gate, Captain .scraggs gave the signal for full speed astern. The worn signal wires broke at the first pull, giving the unsuspecting McGuffey the signal for full speed ahead. Result, the Maggie stuck firmly on a bar.

Here their adventures begin.

Through the exuberance of Gibney's imagination, he is always getting them into scraps and out again, cheating them lustily in the process. This tale is a worthy successor to "Cappy Ricks."

Genres: Fiction

308 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Peter Bernard Kyne was an American novelist who wrote between 1904 and 1940. Many of his works were adapted into screenplays starting in the silent era, particularly his first novel, The Three Godfathers, which was published in 1913 and proved to be a huge success. He is credited in 110 films between 1914 and 1952.

When still under 18, he lied about his age and enlisted in Company L, 14th U.S. Infantry, which served in the Philippines from 1898-1899. The Spanish-American War and the following insurrection of General Emilio Aguinaldo provided background for many of Kyne's later stories.[1] During World War I, he served as a captain in Battery A of the 144th field Artillery, known as the California Grizzlies.

Reviews

[Vicki Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was jolly good fun with no real unhealthy piracy, this book was to the point of ridiculousness. Warning: for those expecting a regular Peter B. Kyne, this is NOT it. Still a great vocabulary, dialect, and characters.

[Joe MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

wacky tale of cargo haulers in early 20th century California . clever storytelling of disputes between boat owner and crew and "on again -off again" working relationships. independent sailors turn adventurerous on the high seas

[Trish Boese · Rating 2 out of 5]

2* This story shifted randomly and I was never able to get into it. It was hard, but I finished the book out of sheer determination.