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The Privateer
This is the incredible, true story of the bormer bonsman who bought his freedom with powder and steel, sacking the richest ports of the West Indies for women, for gold, for glory- for England.
- GenresPirates
169 pages, Paperback
Published October 19, 2023
4 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Josephine Tey
140 books851 followersJosephine Tey was a pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh. Josephine was her mother's first name and Tey the surname of an English Grandmother. As Josephine Tey, she wrote six mystery novels featuring Scotland Yard's Inspector Alan Grant.
The first of these, The Man in the Queue (1929) was published under the pseudonym of Gordon Daviot , whose name also appears on the title page of another of her 1929 novels, Kif; An Unvarnished History. She also used the Daviot by-line for a biography of the 17th century cavalry leader John Graham, which was entitled Claverhouse (1937).
Mackintosh also wrote plays (both one act and full length), some of which were produced during her lifetime, under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot. The district of Daviot, near her home of Inverness in Scotland, was a location her family had vacationed. The name Gordon does not appear in either her family or her history.
Elizabeth Mackintosh came of age during World War I, attending Anstey Physical Training College in Birmingham, England during the years 1915 - 1918. Upon graduation, she became a physical training instructor for eight years. In 1926, her mother died and she returned home to Inverness to care for her invalid father. Busy with household duties, she turned to writing as a diversion, and was successful in creating a second career.
Alfred Hitchcock filmed one of her novels, A Shilling for Candles (1936) as Young and Innocent in 1937 and two other of her novels have been made into films, The Franchise Affair (1948), filmed in 1950, and 'Brat Farrar' (1949), filmed as Paranoiac in 1963. In addition, a number of her works have been dramatised for radio.
Her novel The Daughter of Time (1951) was voted the greatest mystery novel of all time by the Crime Writers' Association in 1990.
Miss Mackintosh never married, and died at the age of 55, in London. A shy woman, she is reported to have been somewhat of a mystery even to her intimate friends. While her death seems to have been a surprise, there is some indication she may have known she was fatally ill for some time prior to her passing.
The first of these, The Man in the Queue (1929) was published under the pseudonym of Gordon Daviot , whose name also appears on the title page of another of her 1929 novels, Kif; An Unvarnished History. She also used the Daviot by-line for a biography of the 17th century cavalry leader John Graham, which was entitled Claverhouse (1937).
Mackintosh also wrote plays (both one act and full length), some of which were produced during her lifetime, under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot. The district of Daviot, near her home of Inverness in Scotland, was a location her family had vacationed. The name Gordon does not appear in either her family or her history.
Elizabeth Mackintosh came of age during World War I, attending Anstey Physical Training College in Birmingham, England during the years 1915 - 1918. Upon graduation, she became a physical training instructor for eight years. In 1926, her mother died and she returned home to Inverness to care for her invalid father. Busy with household duties, she turned to writing as a diversion, and was successful in creating a second career.
Alfred Hitchcock filmed one of her novels, A Shilling for Candles (1936) as Young and Innocent in 1937 and two other of her novels have been made into films, The Franchise Affair (1948), filmed in 1950, and 'Brat Farrar' (1949), filmed as Paranoiac in 1963. In addition, a number of her works have been dramatised for radio.
Her novel The Daughter of Time (1951) was voted the greatest mystery novel of all time by the Crime Writers' Association in 1990.
Miss Mackintosh never married, and died at the age of 55, in London. A shy woman, she is reported to have been somewhat of a mystery even to her intimate friends. While her death seems to have been a surprise, there is some indication she may have known she was fatally ill for some time prior to her passing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 17, 2024
The Privateer by Josephine Tey
Adventurous, challenging, hopeful,
informative, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75 Stars
Having read a good amount of books from Josephine Tey, I was NOT expecting this.
She did a "good" job with the story, it just wasn't the story that I thought I was going to read.
I love historical fiction (which this most definitely IS), but I wasn't prepared for a...basically plotless story from Tey. This was out of her wheelhouse, and I just wasn't ready for it.
Also, I know NOTHING about the actual people that this story represented. The ONLY thing that I know about Captain Morgan...is that it is a rum of some reputation (not going to say which, good/bad), but you do NOT mess with Captain Morgan (heard it from a friend...jk).
I enjoy stories that have ACTUAL plots, so this made me feel rudderless (pun intended).
Might pick up The Life of Henry Morgan by Brigadier-General E.A. Cruikshank...for the "actual" fact, as seen by him (so it might not be "square" with the facts, even then). We shall see.
This DOES make me want to pick up a book that I just purchased (a few weeks ago) called The Wager by David Grann. Hmmm?
Adventurous, challenging, hopeful,
informative, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75 Stars
Having read a good amount of books from Josephine Tey, I was NOT expecting this.
She did a "good" job with the story, it just wasn't the story that I thought I was going to read.
I love historical fiction (which this most definitely IS), but I wasn't prepared for a...basically plotless story from Tey. This was out of her wheelhouse, and I just wasn't ready for it.
Also, I know NOTHING about the actual people that this story represented. The ONLY thing that I know about Captain Morgan...is that it is a rum of some reputation (not going to say which, good/bad), but you do NOT mess with Captain Morgan (heard it from a friend...jk).
I enjoy stories that have ACTUAL plots, so this made me feel rudderless (pun intended).
Might pick up The Life of Henry Morgan by Brigadier-General E.A. Cruikshank...for the "actual" fact, as seen by him (so it might not be "square" with the facts, even then). We shall see.
This DOES make me want to pick up a book that I just purchased (a few weeks ago) called The Wager by David Grann. Hmmm?
December 26, 2023
A wonderful tale of a historic figure.
July 9, 2025
Actually- really good. Unexpectedly so. I mean I love her Mysteries but this seemed improbable. However. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews