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Saltblood
In a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685, a daughter is born as her half-brother is dying. Her mother makes a decision: Mary will become Mark, and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money.
Mary’s dual existence as Mark will lead to a role as a footman in a grand house, serving a French mistress; to the navy, learning who to trust and how to navigate by the stars; and to the army and the battlegrounds of Flanders, finding love among the bloodshed and the mud. But none of this will stop Mary yearning for the sea.
Drawn back to the water, Mary must reinvent herself yet again, for a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing. This time Mary will become something more dangerous than a woman.
She will become a pirate.
Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy, Saltblood is a wild adventure, a treasure trove, weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival, passion and loss, journeys and transformation, through the story of Mary Read, one of history’s most remarkable figures.
Mary’s dual existence as Mark will lead to a role as a footman in a grand house, serving a French mistress; to the navy, learning who to trust and how to navigate by the stars; and to the army and the battlegrounds of Flanders, finding love among the bloodshed and the mud. But none of this will stop Mary yearning for the sea.
Drawn back to the water, Mary must reinvent herself yet again, for a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing. This time Mary will become something more dangerous than a woman.
She will become a pirate.
Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy, Saltblood is a wild adventure, a treasure trove, weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival, passion and loss, journeys and transformation, through the story of Mary Read, one of history’s most remarkable figures.
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First published April 25, 2024
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About the author
Francesca de Tores
3 books80 followersFrancesca is an author and academic.
As Francesca de Tores, she writes historical fiction. Her latest novel is Saltblood (Bloomsbury), based on the true story of Mary Read, a historical figure from piracy’s Golden Age. Saltblood was a Sunday Times top-twenty bestseller, and won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.
As Francesca Haig, she is the author of four novels. The most recent, The Cookbook of Common Prayer, was published in 2021. Her post-apocalyptic Fire Sermon trilogy is published in more than 20 languages. The first novel, The Fire Sermon, was published in 2015, followed by The Map of Bones in 2016, and concluding with The Forever Ship in 2017.
Francesca grew up in lutruwita/Tasmania, gained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, and was a senior lecturer and a Visiting Writing Fellow at the University of Chester. Her poetry has been published in literary journals and anthologies in both Australia and England, and a collection of poetry, Bodies of Water, was published in 2006. In 2010 she was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship. She lives in naarm/Melbourne, on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin nation.
As Francesca de Tores, she writes historical fiction. Her latest novel is Saltblood (Bloomsbury), based on the true story of Mary Read, a historical figure from piracy’s Golden Age. Saltblood was a Sunday Times top-twenty bestseller, and won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.
As Francesca Haig, she is the author of four novels. The most recent, The Cookbook of Common Prayer, was published in 2021. Her post-apocalyptic Fire Sermon trilogy is published in more than 20 languages. The first novel, The Fire Sermon, was published in 2015, followed by The Map of Bones in 2016, and concluding with The Forever Ship in 2017.
Francesca grew up in lutruwita/Tasmania, gained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, and was a senior lecturer and a Visiting Writing Fellow at the University of Chester. Her poetry has been published in literary journals and anthologies in both Australia and England, and a collection of poetry, Bodies of Water, was published in 2006. In 2010 she was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship. She lives in naarm/Melbourne, on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin nation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 636 reviews
June 7, 2025
This book was simultaneously one of the most beautifully and lyrically written books I’ve ever read, whilst also being so incredibly brain rottingly boring at the same time???
I didn’t know the story of Mary Read before going in, and just heard this was sapphic + pirates.
And who knew you could make a tale of sapphic pirates so 👏damn 👏boring👏
And to be honest, I felt calling it sapphic was a bit of a stretch… yes girls kiss/fuck EVENTUALLY (very eventually…. Like you need to get through 200+ pages to get there), but that element was about 1% value of the entire book.
Our MC Mary, is wonderful but instead of a plot, we just get a tale of Mary and her life minus plot.
This book feels like…. You’re on the edge of starting the main story….. THE WHOLE BOOK, UNTIL YOU REALISE…. THAT IS THE BOOK.
it’s not building to the plot, the main part isn’t about to start…. You’re so balls deep in the “plot” but you just couldn’t see it.
Mary’s exploration and thoughts and feelings on gender were by far the highlights of this book, it was interesting being in her head and experiencing things as she did, however alot of the situations of importance felt quick to be pushed aside so the book could move on to…. Continuing on its boring fucking path of nothing.
The love interest??? Bonny…..
Hated her tbh.
Yes she’s woman, yes she’s sexually open, yes she’s chronically herself and doesn’t back down from men, yes she’s a good pirate, WHAT THE FUCK EVER.
She was never overly kind to Mary, and just wanted to fuck whoever and whenever.
Her personality was “I have sex” okay….
The love felt incredibly one sided from Mary and Bonny felt more in love with her husband than with Mary, and when they started to fuck, it just felt out of nowhere like 210 pages in? I literally had a jump scare because I was so confused why they were suddenly fucking.
There is a scene of describing that Bonny’s pussy was sour because her husband had been fucking her, just before she fell into Mary’s bed to fuck her…. And like, the word sour + anything to do with genitals, AINT IT WHEN THEY BEEN AT SEA NOT SHOWERING FOR HOWEVER LONG 🥲
Also, deaths felt super meaningless which bummed me out.
The ”Oh here have a character… oh they’re dead one page later, never mind” ON REPEAT IS SUPER UNSATISFYING. You want me to care, why???
The writing, the way Mary speaks of the sea and beautiful words/thoughts on gender made this a tolerable read. But I do wish even the gender things were explored more.
I didn’t know the story of Mary Read before going in, and just heard this was sapphic + pirates.
And who knew you could make a tale of sapphic pirates so 👏damn 👏boring👏
And to be honest, I felt calling it sapphic was a bit of a stretch… yes girls kiss/fuck EVENTUALLY (very eventually…. Like you need to get through 200+ pages to get there), but that element was about 1% value of the entire book.
Our MC Mary, is wonderful but instead of a plot, we just get a tale of Mary and her life minus plot.
This book feels like…. You’re on the edge of starting the main story….. THE WHOLE BOOK, UNTIL YOU REALISE…. THAT IS THE BOOK.
it’s not building to the plot, the main part isn’t about to start…. You’re so balls deep in the “plot” but you just couldn’t see it.
Mary’s exploration and thoughts and feelings on gender were by far the highlights of this book, it was interesting being in her head and experiencing things as she did, however alot of the situations of importance felt quick to be pushed aside so the book could move on to…. Continuing on its boring fucking path of nothing.
The love interest??? Bonny…..
Hated her tbh.
Yes she’s woman, yes she’s sexually open, yes she’s chronically herself and doesn’t back down from men, yes she’s a good pirate, WHAT THE FUCK EVER.
She was never overly kind to Mary, and just wanted to fuck whoever and whenever.
Her personality was “I have sex” okay….
The love felt incredibly one sided from Mary and Bonny felt more in love with her husband than with Mary, and when they started to fuck, it just felt out of nowhere like 210 pages in? I literally had a jump scare because I was so confused why they were suddenly fucking.
There is a scene of describing that Bonny’s pussy was sour because her husband had been fucking her, just before she fell into Mary’s bed to fuck her…. And like, the word sour + anything to do with genitals, AINT IT WHEN THEY BEEN AT SEA NOT SHOWERING FOR HOWEVER LONG 🥲
Also, deaths felt super meaningless which bummed me out.
The ”Oh here have a character… oh they’re dead one page later, never mind” ON REPEAT IS SUPER UNSATISFYING. You want me to care, why???
The writing, the way Mary speaks of the sea and beautiful words/thoughts on gender made this a tolerable read. But I do wish even the gender things were explored more.
April 14, 2024
A fascinating historical fiction novel (although from other information, the story of Mary Read sticks to the known facts - which I like).
Mary starts her life being passed off as a boy by her mother to ensure a continued allowance coming from her late husband's mother. Of course the allowance dues with the old lady and Mary (now Mark) goes into service in a big house followed by going to sea to see something of the world with the navy then into the army before going back to the sea and becoming a pirate.
That is a very quick sketch of Mary's life, which is enthralling. Mary wasn't the only female pirate, far from it. Nor would she have been the only woman to be in the army or the navy in the 1700s. In Mary's case, she is only one of two women in "Calico Jack" Rackham's pirate crew.
The book itself is a nice, meaty story that doesn't rush about trying to be sensationalist. It is a well researched, interesting look at life for a woman who lived life mainly on her own terms. Plus, it's a cracking adventure story that'll probably leave you as open-mouthed as it did me.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the advance review copy.
Mary starts her life being passed off as a boy by her mother to ensure a continued allowance coming from her late husband's mother. Of course the allowance dues with the old lady and Mary (now Mark) goes into service in a big house followed by going to sea to see something of the world with the navy then into the army before going back to the sea and becoming a pirate.
That is a very quick sketch of Mary's life, which is enthralling. Mary wasn't the only female pirate, far from it. Nor would she have been the only woman to be in the army or the navy in the 1700s. In Mary's case, she is only one of two women in "Calico Jack" Rackham's pirate crew.
The book itself is a nice, meaty story that doesn't rush about trying to be sensationalist. It is a well researched, interesting look at life for a woman who lived life mainly on her own terms. Plus, it's a cracking adventure story that'll probably leave you as open-mouthed as it did me.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the advance review copy.
July 29, 2024
The story of Mary Read should be a great story, and it would be, if it was marketed correctly.
I think that the main reason that this isn't higher rated by me is because of how it is marketed. It is marketed as a swashbuckling tale of a female pirate, but its not written like that. Its written like a biography.
The writing, while beautiful (seriously, de Tores delivers some amazing quotes) is very matter-of-fact, there is no tension in the narrative, no emotion felt whilst reading. None of the deaths, except Mary's, made me feel even a little sad. None of the love stories had me rooting for them. Hell, out of the side characters only Jack was likeable.
And I'm disappointed that it wasn't marketed right, because as a biography, this would be great. It tells Mary's story, from birth till death, and as far as I can tell it's well researched (even if the author admits to taking certain liberties). But this is a novel that doesn't know what it wants to be - fiction or biography.
And I'm sad, because the Golden Age of Piracy is a fantastic backdrop for a story, with many colorful characters to make up the cast.
I think that the main reason that this isn't higher rated by me is because of how it is marketed. It is marketed as a swashbuckling tale of a female pirate, but its not written like that. Its written like a biography.
The writing, while beautiful (seriously, de Tores delivers some amazing quotes) is very matter-of-fact, there is no tension in the narrative, no emotion felt whilst reading. None of the deaths, except Mary's, made me feel even a little sad. None of the love stories had me rooting for them. Hell, out of the side characters only Jack was likeable.
And I'm disappointed that it wasn't marketed right, because as a biography, this would be great. It tells Mary's story, from birth till death, and as far as I can tell it's well researched (even if the author admits to taking certain liberties). But this is a novel that doesn't know what it wants to be - fiction or biography.
And I'm sad, because the Golden Age of Piracy is a fantastic backdrop for a story, with many colorful characters to make up the cast.
May 1, 2024
Now on the longlist for Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, Best Published Novel award!
‘For years I felt myself a stowaway in my own life. But the sea has taught me this: such days as I was granted, they were mine’
Wow, what a treasure this is! "Saltblood" is a captivating dive into the tumultuous world of the Golden Age of Piracy, offering a fresh and thrilling narrative that unfolds through the remarkable life of Mary Read. Born in 1685, Mary's unconventional upbringing as her deceased half-brother Mark sets the stage for an extraordinary journey that transcends societal norms.
The novel takes readers on a riveting odyssey as Mary navigates through diverse roles, from serving a French mistress in a grand house to joining the navy and later the army amidst the battlegrounds of Flanders. Love, loss, and the persistent yearning for the sea weave together to form the intricate fabric of Mary's life. The decision to reinvent herself as a pirate adds a dangerous layer to her character, challenging traditional expectations and propelling the story into the heart of the notorious era.
The strength of "Saltblood" lies not only in its vivid depiction of historical settings but also in its exploration of themes such as gender identity, survival, and transformation. Mary Read emerges as a compelling and multifaceted protagonist, defying conventions and embracing the perilous life of a pirate. The prose is both sumptuous and lyrical, immersing readers in the vivid tapestry of Mary's experiences.
The narrative unfolds like a treasure trove, revealing layers of complexity and depth in Mary's character as she evolves through various stages of her adventurous life. The author's skilful storytelling keeps the reader hooked, balancing moments of high-seas excitement with poignant reflections on identity and societal expectations.
"Saltblood" is a triumph of imagination, offering a thrilling and original take on the historical fiction genre. It is a tale that roars with a gender-shaking vibrancy, leaving readers eager to explore the pages further and be swept away by the intoxicating journey of Mary Read, one of history's most intriguing figures.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Francesca De Tores, NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this opportunity.
To be published on 25th April 2024
‘For years I felt myself a stowaway in my own life. But the sea has taught me this: such days as I was granted, they were mine’
Wow, what a treasure this is! "Saltblood" is a captivating dive into the tumultuous world of the Golden Age of Piracy, offering a fresh and thrilling narrative that unfolds through the remarkable life of Mary Read. Born in 1685, Mary's unconventional upbringing as her deceased half-brother Mark sets the stage for an extraordinary journey that transcends societal norms.
The novel takes readers on a riveting odyssey as Mary navigates through diverse roles, from serving a French mistress in a grand house to joining the navy and later the army amidst the battlegrounds of Flanders. Love, loss, and the persistent yearning for the sea weave together to form the intricate fabric of Mary's life. The decision to reinvent herself as a pirate adds a dangerous layer to her character, challenging traditional expectations and propelling the story into the heart of the notorious era.
The strength of "Saltblood" lies not only in its vivid depiction of historical settings but also in its exploration of themes such as gender identity, survival, and transformation. Mary Read emerges as a compelling and multifaceted protagonist, defying conventions and embracing the perilous life of a pirate. The prose is both sumptuous and lyrical, immersing readers in the vivid tapestry of Mary's experiences.
The narrative unfolds like a treasure trove, revealing layers of complexity and depth in Mary's character as she evolves through various stages of her adventurous life. The author's skilful storytelling keeps the reader hooked, balancing moments of high-seas excitement with poignant reflections on identity and societal expectations.
"Saltblood" is a triumph of imagination, offering a thrilling and original take on the historical fiction genre. It is a tale that roars with a gender-shaking vibrancy, leaving readers eager to explore the pages further and be swept away by the intoxicating journey of Mary Read, one of history's most intriguing figures.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Francesca De Tores, NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this opportunity.
To be published on 25th April 2024
April 24, 2024
A phenomenal debut novel, I savored every page. Loved the writing - beautifully descriptive and a great story. I will be looking out for this author in the future. 5 stars, highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.
October 24, 2024
bello! felice equilibrio tra la componente storica, in cui l'autrice ricostruisce con cura e attenzione la vita della pirata Mary Read, dalla sua infanzia trascorsa vestendo i panni del fratello morto fino ai giorni trascorsi nella ciurma di Jack Rackham insieme ad Anne Bonny, e quella avventurosa, da godersi immaginando il sale, il sole e il sangue di cui è impregnata questa storia (poi se siete così fortunat3 da leggerlo al mare, tanto meglio!)
ottima lettura estiva 🌊🏴☠️⚓️
ottima lettura estiva 🌊🏴☠️⚓️
June 8, 2024
3.5 ★
I've been having a hard time rating and reviewing this book. My thoughts were all over the place and i simply couldn't pinpoint what i liked or didn't like about this novel. So instead of having a definite opinion on it, i'll keep my rating in the middle and hopefully my opinion as well.
My very first thoughts about Saltblood were :
1. this is very repetitive
2. the writing is nice
3. this is all very quotable
The beginning - first 20 pages - are extremely repetitive in the message the author wants to share . I understand the need to be clear about our mc confusion and thoughts regarding this topic which kind of is the whole point of the story, but having it written every other pages irritated me, i am not dumb, i understood the first time around.
I never clearly understood what a pretencious writing was and meant but if i had to give an example, i think this book would be it. And i don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, i felt that a lot of times some words were added for 'pretty' value more than understanding and a lot of sentences were, as i said before 'quotable' and could have been picked up from a philosophical book, "to be or not to be that is the question" is the level we were at lol
I almost dnfed it at 70 something pages and it took me until 100 pages to get into the plot and start caring about the story. I'm saying story and not characters for a good reason, i found it extremely hard to care about them. The mc felt dispassionate to me and i honestly don't know if it was intentional or not. I could understand if she was, after the hardships she had to deal with in her life it would make sense that she kept a certain distance from her feelings and that it would transpire through how her character was written but at the same time she continued to experience love and friendship so she clearly wasn't closed off from her emotions.
The story felt short and long at the same time and overall underwhelming.
Short because not much happened and i managed to read it in a day, long because really not much happened and i was waiting for it to be interesting. Overall underwhelming because i closed the book and my first thought was "all of this for that ?".
I did like the duality in and of our mc, i just wish it would have shine with passion and energy. I also really liked Anne and the parallel of those two characters, their opposite personalities which were at the same time quite similar in a lot of ways. i wasn't blown away by the historical settings but they felt vivid enough to transport me to some scenes.
It's not like i've read a lot of books about pirates, piracy or with ship/sea settings but the only one i truly can compare it with is the Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb and fantasy aspect aside, Saltblood feels like a colorless novella compared to those books. And when it comes to historical settings only, i compare it to The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper and i can only concur to the same opinion, Saltblood lacked the flame and intensity that i expected it to have.
Saltblood is a quick read about gender identity, the struggle of being yourself and following your passion in a time way less understanding and forgiving than today.
I've been having a hard time rating and reviewing this book. My thoughts were all over the place and i simply couldn't pinpoint what i liked or didn't like about this novel. So instead of having a definite opinion on it, i'll keep my rating in the middle and hopefully my opinion as well.
My very first thoughts about Saltblood were :
1. this is very repetitive
2. the writing is nice
3. this is all very quotable
The beginning - first 20 pages - are extremely repetitive in the message the author wants to share . I understand the need to be clear about our mc confusion and thoughts regarding this topic which kind of is the whole point of the story, but having it written every other pages irritated me, i am not dumb, i understood the first time around.
I never clearly understood what a pretencious writing was and meant but if i had to give an example, i think this book would be it. And i don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, i felt that a lot of times some words were added for 'pretty' value more than understanding and a lot of sentences were, as i said before 'quotable' and could have been picked up from a philosophical book, "to be or not to be that is the question" is the level we were at lol
I almost dnfed it at 70 something pages and it took me until 100 pages to get into the plot and start caring about the story. I'm saying story and not characters for a good reason, i found it extremely hard to care about them. The mc felt dispassionate to me and i honestly don't know if it was intentional or not. I could understand if she was, after the hardships she had to deal with in her life it would make sense that she kept a certain distance from her feelings and that it would transpire through how her character was written but at the same time she continued to experience love and friendship so she clearly wasn't closed off from her emotions.
The story felt short and long at the same time and overall underwhelming.
Short because not much happened and i managed to read it in a day, long because really not much happened and i was waiting for it to be interesting. Overall underwhelming because i closed the book and my first thought was "all of this for that ?".
I did like the duality in and of our mc, i just wish it would have shine with passion and energy. I also really liked Anne and the parallel of those two characters, their opposite personalities which were at the same time quite similar in a lot of ways. i wasn't blown away by the historical settings but they felt vivid enough to transport me to some scenes.
It's not like i've read a lot of books about pirates, piracy or with ship/sea settings but the only one i truly can compare it with is the Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb and fantasy aspect aside, Saltblood feels like a colorless novella compared to those books. And when it comes to historical settings only, i compare it to The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper and i can only concur to the same opinion, Saltblood lacked the flame and intensity that i expected it to have.
Saltblood is a quick read about gender identity, the struggle of being yourself and following your passion in a time way less understanding and forgiving than today.
May 11, 2025
This is my favourite read of the year so far. It is an amazing piece of historical fiction about the life and times of Mary Read, one of only a few female pirates sailing in the 1700s who became a shipmate of the pirate captain, Jack Rackham and his lover, Anne Bonney.
The story introduces Mary's difficult and complicated childhood with her mother who brought her up as a boy in order to swindle money from a rich relative and suggests that this influenced Mary's search for her true sexuality over her lifetime. Seemingly stuck in a male role, she goes on to serve as both a soldier and a sailor in Britain's wars with France and Spain, hiding her gender before marrying a fellow soldier and moving with him to Holland.
The story of how Mary becomes a pirate is fascinatingly developed as are her relationships with Rackham and Anne Bonney. The author uses the known facts about Mary's life and puts a fictional spin on these to keep the story alive.
I did a little reading about the author and wasn't surprised to learn she is a published poet. She has a lyrical writing style which suits the story very well and beautifully describes life at sea in particular.
An original story with richly developed characters and a smooth running narrative. Great read.
The story introduces Mary's difficult and complicated childhood with her mother who brought her up as a boy in order to swindle money from a rich relative and suggests that this influenced Mary's search for her true sexuality over her lifetime. Seemingly stuck in a male role, she goes on to serve as both a soldier and a sailor in Britain's wars with France and Spain, hiding her gender before marrying a fellow soldier and moving with him to Holland.
The story of how Mary becomes a pirate is fascinatingly developed as are her relationships with Rackham and Anne Bonney. The author uses the known facts about Mary's life and puts a fictional spin on these to keep the story alive.
I did a little reading about the author and wasn't surprised to learn she is a published poet. She has a lyrical writing style which suits the story very well and beautifully describes life at sea in particular.
An original story with richly developed characters and a smooth running narrative. Great read.
July 22, 2025
2.5 ⭐️ Sinceramente mi aspettavo molto di più. La scrittura è meravigliosa (si sente che l’autrice è una poetessa), però la narrazione risulta troppo sbrigativa e a tratti fredda. Affascinanti le tematiche di genere, identità e sessualità, ma riassumere una vita intera in neanche 400 pagine è rischioso. Non sono riuscita a immergermi appieno nella storia.
June 26, 2024
Ringrazio l'autrice, Ne/oN e NetGalley per l'ARC digitale.
“Saltblood”, scritto da Francesca De Torres, è un romanzo di historical fiction intrecciato con temi LGBTQ+. Ambientato nel 1685, il libro racconta la vita di Mary Read, che venne cresciuta come Mark per permettere alla madre di continuare a riscuotere l'eredità del figlio maschio deceduto. La duplice esistenza di Mary la porta a vivere numerose peripezie e infine a reinventarsi completamente quando decide di partire per mare, questa volta come pirata. Il romanzo esplora l’età d’oro della pirateria, raccontando una storia di sopravvivenza, passione, perdita e trasformazione attraverso gli occhi di una dei nomi più celebri del tempo.
Essendo un’appassionata di historical fiction, specialmente quando intrecciata con temi LGBTQ+, ero molto curiosa di conoscere la storia di Mary Read, una figura di cui avevo solo sentito parlare. Mi aspettavo un’avventura avvincente e ben scritta che riuscisse a trasportarmi nell’epoca della pirateria e che esplorasse la complessità del personaggio di Mary in profondità, offrendo una prospettiva unica e toccante sulla vita di una persona che sfida le convenzioni di genere in periodo storico molto diverso dal nostro. Purtroppo, però, “Saltblood” non si è mostrato all’altezza delle mie aspettative.
Sicuramente l’autrice ha fatto tantissime ricerche ed è stata molto brava a mettere insieme realtà storica e finzione perché, almeno a me, è risultato impossibile riuscire a capire cosa fosse vero e cosa inventato. Tuttavia ho trovato la narrazione un po’ lenta, soprattutto all’inizio, e nonostante lo stile super scorrevole ammetto di essermi annoiata un po’. Le prime pagine poi contenevano concetti così ripetitivi da portarmi quasi all’esasperazione. So che l’esplorazione della propria identità e del proprio genere è una delle questioni principali alla base del libro e so anche che la confusione tra l’essere Mark o Mary, entrambi o nessuno caratterizza il personaggio soprattutto nelle prime fasi, ma ciò non mi ha impedito di infastidirmi ogni volta che il concetto veniva reiterato. Ho capito il punto della questione, l’avevo capito già dopo le prime due volte, ma a un certo punto basta. In ogni caso la parte interessante, secondo me, ha inizio quando Mary decide di stravolgere la sua vita e partire per mare (ancora di più quando poi decide di “reinventarsi” come pirata). Anche qui però la storia mi è sembrata estremamente piatta e priva di un vero e proprio climax. Insomma, la prima domanda che mi sono fatta una volta finito il libro è stata: e quindi? Qual era il punto?
Per quanto riguarda i personaggi, nel corso della storia mi sono resa conto di essere totalmente indifferente nei confronti di tutti loro e incapace di provare qualsivoglia gioia o dolore assieme a loro. Non sono riuscita ad empatizzare nemmeno con la stessa Mary: nonostante la storia sia raccontata dal suo punto di vista (è come se, nel suo ultimo momento di vita, ripercorresse tutta la sua esistenza dall’infanzia fino al giorno della morte), l’ho trovata troppo distaccata. Non sono riuscita ad apprezzare nemmeno la storia tra lei e Anne. Il loro primo incontro e tutte le scene delle loro passeggiate all’alba in riva al mare hanno fatto nascere in me grandi speranze.. solo per poi rimanere delusa (di nuovo) quando la loro relazione si è sviluppata. Probabilmente ho sbagliato io ad aspettarmi chissà quale storia d’amore struggente. Sì, Anne è uno spirito libero, però il suo atteggiamento mi ha fatto storcere il naso e me l’ha resa quasi insopportabile.
La traduzione mi è sembrata davvero ben fatta e, a parte qualche frase (pochissime, si contano davvero sulle dita di una mano) che non mi suonava, il testo scorreva che era una meraviglia! Non sembrava minimamente di star leggendo una traduzione. Ho avuto giusto qualche difficoltà a districarmi tra i tantissimi termini marinareschi e relativi all’anatomia delle navi, ma si tratta di una mia lacuna personale.
In conclusione purtroppo sono rimasta abbastanza delusa e consiglierei questo libro giusto per avere un’idea di come potesse essere la vita durante l’età d’oro della pirateria.
“Saltblood”, scritto da Francesca De Torres, è un romanzo di historical fiction intrecciato con temi LGBTQ+. Ambientato nel 1685, il libro racconta la vita di Mary Read, che venne cresciuta come Mark per permettere alla madre di continuare a riscuotere l'eredità del figlio maschio deceduto. La duplice esistenza di Mary la porta a vivere numerose peripezie e infine a reinventarsi completamente quando decide di partire per mare, questa volta come pirata. Il romanzo esplora l’età d’oro della pirateria, raccontando una storia di sopravvivenza, passione, perdita e trasformazione attraverso gli occhi di una dei nomi più celebri del tempo.
Essendo un’appassionata di historical fiction, specialmente quando intrecciata con temi LGBTQ+, ero molto curiosa di conoscere la storia di Mary Read, una figura di cui avevo solo sentito parlare. Mi aspettavo un’avventura avvincente e ben scritta che riuscisse a trasportarmi nell’epoca della pirateria e che esplorasse la complessità del personaggio di Mary in profondità, offrendo una prospettiva unica e toccante sulla vita di una persona che sfida le convenzioni di genere in periodo storico molto diverso dal nostro. Purtroppo, però, “Saltblood” non si è mostrato all’altezza delle mie aspettative.
Sicuramente l’autrice ha fatto tantissime ricerche ed è stata molto brava a mettere insieme realtà storica e finzione perché, almeno a me, è risultato impossibile riuscire a capire cosa fosse vero e cosa inventato. Tuttavia ho trovato la narrazione un po’ lenta, soprattutto all’inizio, e nonostante lo stile super scorrevole ammetto di essermi annoiata un po’. Le prime pagine poi contenevano concetti così ripetitivi da portarmi quasi all’esasperazione. So che l’esplorazione della propria identità e del proprio genere è una delle questioni principali alla base del libro e so anche che la confusione tra l’essere Mark o Mary, entrambi o nessuno caratterizza il personaggio soprattutto nelle prime fasi, ma ciò non mi ha impedito di infastidirmi ogni volta che il concetto veniva reiterato. Ho capito il punto della questione, l’avevo capito già dopo le prime due volte, ma a un certo punto basta. In ogni caso la parte interessante, secondo me, ha inizio quando Mary decide di stravolgere la sua vita e partire per mare (ancora di più quando poi decide di “reinventarsi” come pirata). Anche qui però la storia mi è sembrata estremamente piatta e priva di un vero e proprio climax. Insomma, la prima domanda che mi sono fatta una volta finito il libro è stata: e quindi? Qual era il punto?
Per quanto riguarda i personaggi, nel corso della storia mi sono resa conto di essere totalmente indifferente nei confronti di tutti loro e incapace di provare qualsivoglia gioia o dolore assieme a loro. Non sono riuscita ad empatizzare nemmeno con la stessa Mary: nonostante la storia sia raccontata dal suo punto di vista (è come se, nel suo ultimo momento di vita, ripercorresse tutta la sua esistenza dall’infanzia fino al giorno della morte), l’ho trovata troppo distaccata. Non sono riuscita ad apprezzare nemmeno la storia tra lei e Anne. Il loro primo incontro e tutte le scene delle loro passeggiate all’alba in riva al mare hanno fatto nascere in me grandi speranze.. solo per poi rimanere delusa (di nuovo) quando la loro relazione si è sviluppata. Probabilmente ho sbagliato io ad aspettarmi chissà quale storia d’amore struggente. Sì, Anne è uno spirito libero, però il suo atteggiamento mi ha fatto storcere il naso e me l’ha resa quasi insopportabile.
La traduzione mi è sembrata davvero ben fatta e, a parte qualche frase (pochissime, si contano davvero sulle dita di una mano) che non mi suonava, il testo scorreva che era una meraviglia! Non sembrava minimamente di star leggendo una traduzione. Ho avuto giusto qualche difficoltà a districarmi tra i tantissimi termini marinareschi e relativi all’anatomia delle navi, ma si tratta di una mia lacuna personale.
In conclusione purtroppo sono rimasta abbastanza delusa e consiglierei questo libro giusto per avere un’idea di come potesse essere la vita durante l’età d’oro della pirateria.
July 10, 2024
This was an absolutely brilliant piece of historical fiction. Inspired by the true stories of female pirates and following the life of Mary Reeve.
The writing is brilliant. The battles were brutal but not romanticised. The gender fluidity and forms of love were interesting and I think refreshingly done. The pull of the sea and atmosphere of port towns/ sea chases really dynamic, and helped the pace of the story.
Have other thoughts but this is what's rattling round my head as I just finish the book.
The writing is brilliant. The battles were brutal but not romanticised. The gender fluidity and forms of love were interesting and I think refreshingly done. The pull of the sea and atmosphere of port towns/ sea chases really dynamic, and helped the pace of the story.
Have other thoughts but this is what's rattling round my head as I just finish the book.
March 16, 2025
✨️ I need more books like this in my life...! Just goes to show woman can pretty much do anything 💪🏴☠️
December 9, 2025
Girls Initially Raised as Boys
As I began to read about Mary Read in Saltblood by Tasmanian author Francesca de Tores, I had a sense of deja vu. I paused reading and revisited my review of Irish author Nuala O’Connor’s Seaborne , another work of historical fiction, but focused on Kinsale born Anne Bonny.
Stories of Real Female Pirates
In Saltblood, Mary Read (true historical figure) is raised by her mother as Mark, a practical solution to poverty, inheritance laws and social restrictions.
After such a beginning, perhaps not surprisingly, Mary preferred for some years to live as Mark, due to opportunity and freedom. Working in service in a grand house as a man led to her/him enlisting in the Navy, then as the battles moved to land, joining the Army.
From the Military to Piracy
Settling for a short period as a married woman, she would then return to the sea after a tragic loss.
Initially working as crew for a privateer ship (authority sanctioned raiders); when they are raided by pirates, she elects to jump ship to escape the overly attentive Captain Payton and joins pirate Captain Jack Rackman. Although in her earlier years in the navy and army she was disguised, her later years at sea she presents as a woman, but is accepted as one of the crew due to her experience and abilities.
Pirating Protocols
One of the things the novel does well is really give you an idea of how pirating and raids work, for a start each member of the crew is made to sign a contract ‘articles of conduct’ that state policies around behaviour, pirate behavior (such as drunkenness, fighting, and interaction with women) and disciplinary action should a code be violated. Failing to honour the Articles could get a pirate marooned, whipped, even executed. It was the Captain’s way to maintain order and avoid dissent and ensure loyalty. The articles stated how gains would be shared.
There was a lot less fighting than we might imagine. Pirates preferred their target acquiesce. A black flag signaled to a vessel that they were about to be attacked, but that “quarter” would be given. This meant the pirates would not kill everyone on board if they cooperated and handed over any cargo. Seeing the black flag instilled fear and alerted ships to what was about to happen. If crew members did not fight, they might save their lives, but not their cargo. Crew sometimes elected to join the pirate ship as Mary did.
A Companion Crow
One of the interesting fictional elements in de Tore’s version of Mary Read’s life is the appearance of a crow that follows Mary on land and out to sea. The crows presence acts as a warning to the men, it is not a good sign to them, but for Mary, it’s presence is reassuring.
A Pirate Nest in the Bahamas
Nassau became the base for English privateers, many of whom became lawless pirates over time. The Bahamas were ideal as a base for pirates as its waters were too shallow for a large man-of-war but deep enough for the fast, shallow vessels favoured by pirates.
It was here that Mary Read eventually met and befriended the much younger (by 15 years), emboldened Anne Bonny, encountered in Seaborne by Nuala O’Connor. The two women became fast friends, though opposite personalities.
Anne falls for Captain Jack and decides to join the crew, deepening her relationship with Mary simultaneously.
A Governor on a Mission
Saltblood continues to narrate the scrapes and adventures these two embark on and the efforts of Captain Rackham to avoid Governor Rogers, an English sea captain, privateer and colonial administrator who governed the Bahamas from 1718 to 1721 and again from 1728 to 1732. He aimed to rid the colony of pirates.
Initially I started then put this aside due to that feeling of having read something too similar, it starts off slowly and didn’t really pull me in, but more recently I picked it up again and continued only to find it much more engaging, as Mary is indeed quite a different character to Anne, and I enjoyed her land adventures as much as those at sea and the way their piracy days end is unforgettable.
I would recommend this to those interested in seafaring voyages and daring female characters and it sits well alongside Seaborne.
As I began to read about Mary Read in Saltblood by Tasmanian author Francesca de Tores, I had a sense of deja vu. I paused reading and revisited my review of Irish author Nuala O’Connor’s Seaborne , another work of historical fiction, but focused on Kinsale born Anne Bonny.
Stories of Real Female Pirates
In Saltblood, Mary Read (true historical figure) is raised by her mother as Mark, a practical solution to poverty, inheritance laws and social restrictions.
After such a beginning, perhaps not surprisingly, Mary preferred for some years to live as Mark, due to opportunity and freedom. Working in service in a grand house as a man led to her/him enlisting in the Navy, then as the battles moved to land, joining the Army.
From the Military to Piracy
Settling for a short period as a married woman, she would then return to the sea after a tragic loss.
I went to sea a girl dressed as a boy, and I come back as something else entirely. I come back sea-seasoned: watchful of winds, and with an eye on the tides. I do not know if I have come back wiser, or better or perhaps madder. But I am not the same. What the sea takes, it does not return.
Initially working as crew for a privateer ship (authority sanctioned raiders); when they are raided by pirates, she elects to jump ship to escape the overly attentive Captain Payton and joins pirate Captain Jack Rackman. Although in her earlier years in the navy and army she was disguised, her later years at sea she presents as a woman, but is accepted as one of the crew due to her experience and abilities.
Pirating Protocols
Most pirates know the rules: go in fierce and fast, and the captains will beg for quarter, just as Payton did, and the Spaniards now do too.
One of the things the novel does well is really give you an idea of how pirating and raids work, for a start each member of the crew is made to sign a contract ‘articles of conduct’ that state policies around behaviour, pirate behavior (such as drunkenness, fighting, and interaction with women) and disciplinary action should a code be violated. Failing to honour the Articles could get a pirate marooned, whipped, even executed. It was the Captain’s way to maintain order and avoid dissent and ensure loyalty. The articles stated how gains would be shared.
There was a lot less fighting than we might imagine. Pirates preferred their target acquiesce. A black flag signaled to a vessel that they were about to be attacked, but that “quarter” would be given. This meant the pirates would not kill everyone on board if they cooperated and handed over any cargo. Seeing the black flag instilled fear and alerted ships to what was about to happen. If crew members did not fight, they might save their lives, but not their cargo. Crew sometimes elected to join the pirate ship as Mary did.
A Companion Crow
One of the interesting fictional elements in de Tore’s version of Mary Read’s life is the appearance of a crow that follows Mary on land and out to sea. The crows presence acts as a warning to the men, it is not a good sign to them, but for Mary, it’s presence is reassuring.
A bird that can pounce from the top of the mainmast to skewer a sardine in the water, or snatch a crab from under rock and find out its soft parts, is a bird that sees well, and clear. It counts, this witnessing. To live your life under the vigilance of a crow is a kind of covenant.
A Pirate Nest in the Bahamas
Nassau became the base for English privateers, many of whom became lawless pirates over time. The Bahamas were ideal as a base for pirates as its waters were too shallow for a large man-of-war but deep enough for the fast, shallow vessels favoured by pirates.
It was here that Mary Read eventually met and befriended the much younger (by 15 years), emboldened Anne Bonny, encountered in Seaborne by Nuala O’Connor. The two women became fast friends, though opposite personalities.
Anne falls for Captain Jack and decides to join the crew, deepening her relationship with Mary simultaneously.
Next to Anne Bonny, so bold and notorious, I had thought myself meek and colourless, and my story of little note. Yet she never tires of asking me about my years in the navy, and the army. Even my years on the Walcheren, which to me seem largely drab, fascinate Anne.
A Governor on a Mission
Saltblood continues to narrate the scrapes and adventures these two embark on and the efforts of Captain Rackham to avoid Governor Rogers, an English sea captain, privateer and colonial administrator who governed the Bahamas from 1718 to 1721 and again from 1728 to 1732. He aimed to rid the colony of pirates.
Initially I started then put this aside due to that feeling of having read something too similar, it starts off slowly and didn’t really pull me in, but more recently I picked it up again and continued only to find it much more engaging, as Mary is indeed quite a different character to Anne, and I enjoyed her land adventures as much as those at sea and the way their piracy days end is unforgettable.
I would recommend this to those interested in seafaring voyages and daring female characters and it sits well alongside Seaborne.
May 2, 2024
‘Saltblooded, wholehearted, I choose the sea.’
I have so many good things to say about ‘Saltblood’. It is exactly the book I want to read! I felt whalloped right into the story, and what a Shakespearean story it is – an enraged mother (‘[My mother] will not forgive her life for what it has dared to become’) and a daughter role-playing a gender-swapping kind of masquerade:
Putting these things together, as a reader I appreciated the tale told of keeping who you are a secret, or changing who you are into something other:
For comparisons, I’d say if you enjoyed The Night Ship by Jess Kidd, or if you’re a Julia Armfield devotee, I’d highly recommend ‘Saltblood’.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for an eARC via NetGalley.
I have so many good things to say about ‘Saltblood’. It is exactly the book I want to read! I felt whalloped right into the story, and what a Shakespearean story it is – an enraged mother (‘[My mother] will not forgive her life for what it has dared to become’) and a daughter role-playing a gender-swapping kind of masquerade:
‘[My mother] has raised me to be a boy, and she says it is for the money, but sometimes I wonder if it isn’t also so the world will treat me kinder than it has treated her. But that means she hates me too, now that I am a boy and on my way to becoming a man. The older I get, the angrier at me she becomes, and I never know if it is because I am not good enough at playing a man, or because I am too good at it.’This novel tickled the back of my mind in the most gratifying manner. Francesca de Tores moulds her novel around archetypal source material, the fascination with which we have all mostly internalised: the shapeshifting of women (‘This is the way of it: women making space, and men taking it.’). I love it when contemporary fiction calls allusion into play and re-shapes or adds onto what we already hold in the collective ‘read’ shelf of our consciousness. Yet what I thought would be a tragi-comic spectacle, actually revealed itself quite early on as a sensitive discourse on what it means to claim an identity:
‘Tell me your crow name. Tell me the name you will wear to the bottom of the sea. Tell me the name shaped to fit every part of you, instep and underarm and the exact curve of your ear. Tell me the name you hear someone calling in a dream, and wake with your mouth already open to reply. Tell me the name that the crows would say, black-voiced, because everybody knows a crow cannot lie.’And with this gorgeous image, I thought of Ovid’s Crow, who – in the ‘Metamorphoses’ Metamorphoses– illustrates the necessity of holding your tongue, of keeping a secret.
Putting these things together, as a reader I appreciated the tale told of keeping who you are a secret, or changing who you are into something other:
'I believe all bodies are as loose as the bodies in [ancient myths]. Zeus changes into a swan [...]; Daphne changes into a tree [...]. I figure there is a truth running through these tales like a thread of gristle through meat: that you can be one thing, and then another. Sometimes it's a threat; sometimes it's a promise.'In fact, far from melodrama, ‘Saltblood’ is a finely wrought inquiry into emotional being. Mary Read, our protagonist, is as much a shapeshifter as any of Ovid’s figures and she unabashedly calls upon that most iconic of Ovid’s metamorphs, Daphne:
‘For an hour, as I clean the drawing room fireplace, I keep the [cherry] stone in my mouth like a dislodged tooth. In the end I swallow it. For days I dream a cherry tree will grow in me. I think of Grandmother’s book of myths, and the picture of Daphne, half woman and half tree, taking refuge in her own branches. I think of the hardness of women and the softness of wood. I remember the sour-sweetness of the cherry and how it split under my tongue. At night, in my narrow bed, I clench my hand then unfurl it like a leaf, and imagine how boughs might grow from me.’As for Tores’ writing style, every phrase here can be mined, nothing is flimsy or surface-level; there is craft and gravity borne out in her style. With each piece of technical wowzery and with each looping-back to earlier established imagery, Tores builds upon the reading pleasure, and I found her work elicited a kind of primal satisfaction in me.
For comparisons, I’d say if you enjoyed The Night Ship by Jess Kidd, or if you’re a Julia Armfield devotee, I’d highly recommend ‘Saltblood’.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for an eARC via NetGalley.
May 15, 2025
3.5* The story of a fascinating woman. But was this the adventure story it promised to be, or rather a biography trying to track every detail of Mary Read's life?
The novel starts with the birth of the protagonist and ends with her death. It is clearly more than just a factual reconstruction of her life, shining with a lyrical, sometimes haunting prose, and disclosing her inner feelings, dreams, and thoughts.
And yet, I still felt like the novel was a rather sober account of the journey of her life. Here, biographical completeness was prioritized over emotional relatability. Given how many of her loved ones died, she seemed jarringly unscathed. I don't need every page to bleed trauma. However, this way, all the stations of her life felt like disconnected episodes, emotionally forgotten the moment they were over. This led to a lack of empathy and gravitas. All this while her life could have been exceedingly exciting.
Additionally, I caught myself constantly waiting for the good parts. It takes quite some time until Mary becomes an actual pirate, and even longer until she and Anne become a thing. Don't get me wrong, the navy and soldiering parts were also fun. They only lacked depth and weren't what I came here for. What I did enjoy about the book was a) the exploration of gender and repeated challenge to given gender norms, and b) the final ~100 pages when the pirating finally takes off. This last part, however, could have been longer. For this being sold as a pirate novel, the criminal shenanigans could have been more central. the ending was tragically pretty tho.
The novel starts with the birth of the protagonist and ends with her death. It is clearly more than just a factual reconstruction of her life, shining with a lyrical, sometimes haunting prose, and disclosing her inner feelings, dreams, and thoughts.
And yet, I still felt like the novel was a rather sober account of the journey of her life. Here, biographical completeness was prioritized over emotional relatability. Given how many of her loved ones died, she seemed jarringly unscathed. I don't need every page to bleed trauma. However, this way, all the stations of her life felt like disconnected episodes, emotionally forgotten the moment they were over. This led to a lack of empathy and gravitas. All this while her life could have been exceedingly exciting.
Additionally, I caught myself constantly waiting for the good parts. It takes quite some time until Mary becomes an actual pirate, and even longer until she and Anne become a thing. Don't get me wrong, the navy and soldiering parts were also fun. They only lacked depth and weren't what I came here for. What I did enjoy about the book was a) the exploration of gender and repeated challenge to given gender norms, and b) the final ~100 pages when the pirating finally takes off. This last part, however, could have been longer. For this being sold as a pirate novel, the criminal shenanigans could have been more central. the ending was tragically pretty tho.
August 13, 2025
Saltblood, you could’ve had it all.
This book was perfect bait for me. Pirates? Queer pirates? Gender fuckery? I’m sold, obviously. But it fell victim to the same issue that so many queer books (Specifically Sapphic books,) fall to. Men.
Okay, that was a little incendiary. But I’m like, 60% serious.
If I had a dollar for every time the ‘Narrative foil’ in a Sapphic book has just been A Shitty Guy, I’d have enough money to buy a library full of better books. Why can’t authors seem to come up with any other obstacle for queer women to overcome? And god, on top of that, the pregnancy-but-scary trope. This book has both of them.
Mary’s relationship with gender was interesting at first, but I slowly developed the feeling that this author has a very surface level understanding of gender and transness. Of course, I can’t know that for sure what the author’s experience of gender is like. But gender is a pretty central theme in this book, so it seemed pertinent to mention.
This book was well written. It was adventurous, it was emotional, it was fast paced. But I can’t help but feel like a lot of these books featuring LGBTQ characters just don’t feel *queer*. Saltblood is one of those books.
It was fine. It was sad. Mary deserved better at every point in this book. It took a while to get to the pirate stuff, but there were pirates. That’s about it.
This book was perfect bait for me. Pirates? Queer pirates? Gender fuckery? I’m sold, obviously. But it fell victim to the same issue that so many queer books (Specifically Sapphic books,) fall to. Men.
Okay, that was a little incendiary. But I’m like, 60% serious.
If I had a dollar for every time the ‘Narrative foil’ in a Sapphic book has just been A Shitty Guy, I’d have enough money to buy a library full of better books. Why can’t authors seem to come up with any other obstacle for queer women to overcome? And god, on top of that, the pregnancy-but-scary trope. This book has both of them.
Mary’s relationship with gender was interesting at first, but I slowly developed the feeling that this author has a very surface level understanding of gender and transness. Of course, I can’t know that for sure what the author’s experience of gender is like. But gender is a pretty central theme in this book, so it seemed pertinent to mention.
This book was well written. It was adventurous, it was emotional, it was fast paced. But I can’t help but feel like a lot of these books featuring LGBTQ characters just don’t feel *queer*. Saltblood is one of those books.
It was fine. It was sad. Mary deserved better at every point in this book. It took a while to get to the pirate stuff, but there were pirates. That’s about it.
May 2, 2025
29th book read in 2025
I have hit a streak of good reads. This is a good thing because my life has been impossibly crazy lately, so I need novels that take me away from it all.
Saltblood is a pirate tale! Though the piracy takes place in the Caribbean Islands, it is NOT Pirates of the Caribbean as we have known it in the movies.
The author grew up in Tasmania, gained a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and became a writer. She writes under various names. As a historical fiction author, we know her as Francesca De Tores. Though she claims not to be a historian, she is a consummate researcher. Saltblood is based on two real women: Mary Reed and Anne Bonny.
Mary Reed was born in poverty in 1685. As she came into life, her half-brother was dying. Her beleaguered mother decided she would be called Mark and raised her as a boy, so she could continue to collect the brother’s inheritance money.
Though her mother was heartless, it was not so hard to be a boy when she was a child in Great Britain but after puberty it became trickier. Still, she managed to get away by joining the navy. She kept her private parts a secret, learned to walk like a man, learned to navigate and fell in love with the sea. She was adopted by a crow!
This tale is so rich and full of incident, war, adventure, and even love. It seemed much bigger than its 336 pages. I was delighted to know a female pirate in those wild and rough days of the 1700s. When Mary meets Anne, the story literally explodes. The history felt correct, and I learned much I did not know before. Perhaps best of all was the relationship between Mary and Anne.
Saltblood shows the myriad strengths of women. I challenge all women to find those strengths and use them in whatever world is theirs.
I have hit a streak of good reads. This is a good thing because my life has been impossibly crazy lately, so I need novels that take me away from it all.
Saltblood is a pirate tale! Though the piracy takes place in the Caribbean Islands, it is NOT Pirates of the Caribbean as we have known it in the movies.
The author grew up in Tasmania, gained a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and became a writer. She writes under various names. As a historical fiction author, we know her as Francesca De Tores. Though she claims not to be a historian, she is a consummate researcher. Saltblood is based on two real women: Mary Reed and Anne Bonny.
Mary Reed was born in poverty in 1685. As she came into life, her half-brother was dying. Her beleaguered mother decided she would be called Mark and raised her as a boy, so she could continue to collect the brother’s inheritance money.
Though her mother was heartless, it was not so hard to be a boy when she was a child in Great Britain but after puberty it became trickier. Still, she managed to get away by joining the navy. She kept her private parts a secret, learned to walk like a man, learned to navigate and fell in love with the sea. She was adopted by a crow!
This tale is so rich and full of incident, war, adventure, and even love. It seemed much bigger than its 336 pages. I was delighted to know a female pirate in those wild and rough days of the 1700s. When Mary meets Anne, the story literally explodes. The history felt correct, and I learned much I did not know before. Perhaps best of all was the relationship between Mary and Anne.
Saltblood shows the myriad strengths of women. I challenge all women to find those strengths and use them in whatever world is theirs.
January 26, 2025
Weird - although the writing style is lyrical-ish and in spite of an audiobook narrator with an evocative voice, Francesca De Tores' fictional biography failed to truly immerse me. It should have. It had all the ingredients - a fascinating historical main character, portraying a life full of danger and adventure and daunting decisions, a deft feminist touch. And yet, something was missing.
I'm still not sure if it was a lack of dialogue or not enough distinction between the different side characters, or the strangely distanced POV. Some of the story was too compressed, with too many jumps in time and place and too little detail to become attached to a character, a place, a story arc. Whatever it was, it left me an observer. While I could appreciate the finely curated writing style and Mary as a strong and exceptional historical figure, my heart kept its distance.
That said, for anyone who doesn't know (yet) about Mary Read (I came in with a lot of pre-hand knowledge), "Saltblood" is a valuable history lesson about the legendary female pirate Mary Read, her co-pirate and alleged lover Anne Bonny and about the age of piracy in the 17th/18th century. De Tores mixes what little facts we know with her own ideas, focusing on Mary's search for and assertion of her own identity. Raised as a boy and as a stand-in for her dead brother, Mary spends many years trying to figure out who she is and who and what she wants to be. Sexual identity and sexual orientation are central themes in the novel, heavily influenced by the societal norms of the time and the danger of being discovered. In that sense, Mary's "career" from footman to wife to soldier to sailor to lover to pirate reads like the lifelong coming-of-age story of a woman who learns to live outside of any labels or expectations, finding her true calling in the only milieu that would allow this - outlaws at sea.
De Tores uses a lot of beautiful imagery, always relating to the sea. She knows how to write well. Maybe it's the effort of mixing fact and fiction that takes some of the heart out of this book. Maybe it's too many names and places coming and going without really sticking. Maybe it's something else. I can't put my finger on it, but I expected to be enthralled instead of just being mildly interested.
A good history lesson about a memorable, impressive woman and her (speculative) journey to find herself in a world where, in order to be free, you had to be a man - or a pirate.
I'm still not sure if it was a lack of dialogue or not enough distinction between the different side characters, or the strangely distanced POV. Some of the story was too compressed, with too many jumps in time and place and too little detail to become attached to a character, a place, a story arc. Whatever it was, it left me an observer. While I could appreciate the finely curated writing style and Mary as a strong and exceptional historical figure, my heart kept its distance.
That said, for anyone who doesn't know (yet) about Mary Read (I came in with a lot of pre-hand knowledge), "Saltblood" is a valuable history lesson about the legendary female pirate Mary Read, her co-pirate and alleged lover Anne Bonny and about the age of piracy in the 17th/18th century. De Tores mixes what little facts we know with her own ideas, focusing on Mary's search for and assertion of her own identity. Raised as a boy and as a stand-in for her dead brother, Mary spends many years trying to figure out who she is and who and what she wants to be. Sexual identity and sexual orientation are central themes in the novel, heavily influenced by the societal norms of the time and the danger of being discovered. In that sense, Mary's "career" from footman to wife to soldier to sailor to lover to pirate reads like the lifelong coming-of-age story of a woman who learns to live outside of any labels or expectations, finding her true calling in the only milieu that would allow this - outlaws at sea.
De Tores uses a lot of beautiful imagery, always relating to the sea. She knows how to write well. Maybe it's the effort of mixing fact and fiction that takes some of the heart out of this book. Maybe it's too many names and places coming and going without really sticking. Maybe it's something else. I can't put my finger on it, but I expected to be enthralled instead of just being mildly interested.
A good history lesson about a memorable, impressive woman and her (speculative) journey to find herself in a world where, in order to be free, you had to be a man - or a pirate.
March 31, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. This book read as an adventurous historical memoir filled with dramatic twists and turns. We follow the many lives of Mary Read, as she grapples with her own complicated identity, gender and sexuality while surviving in a man's world.
"The navy is full of boys pretending to be men. Is it such a big difference, one girl pretending to be a boy?"
Towards the middle mark of the book, I'd almost given up on seeing a single pirate. They didn't appear until 54%. Before then, we spent most of the time wading through the muddy trenches with Mary/Mark as a soldier, then in the infantry. Although they had started in the Navy, it felt like a long time until we returned to the sea to find adventure. Mary/Mark really did live a thousand lives, I just wish we were able to connect with some of them in a more meaningful way as they often felt like fractured parts of the person but never the full picture.
"I could pass again as a woman. And may yet in years to come. But I will never not be a sailor."
I'll admit, I was expecting more pirating. Perhaps it's a repetitive line of work that doesn't translate well to storytelling but I must say that I envisioned much more of the book to take place upon a pirate ship. I expected Mary would rise up the ranks of pirate kind, perhaps captain her own ship of multiple female pirates. However it seems Mary was one-of-a-kind female who seized her chance to jump aboard a sinking ship during the decline of piracy, never advancing beyond a shipmate. Could well be that I am just unappreciative of what is a realistic and factual retelling of history.. however, I can't deny that it was a bit of a reality check for a reader expecting female pirates galore embarking on bountiful swashbuckling adventures.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing & Francesca De Tores for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
"The navy is full of boys pretending to be men. Is it such a big difference, one girl pretending to be a boy?"
Towards the middle mark of the book, I'd almost given up on seeing a single pirate. They didn't appear until 54%. Before then, we spent most of the time wading through the muddy trenches with Mary/Mark as a soldier, then in the infantry. Although they had started in the Navy, it felt like a long time until we returned to the sea to find adventure. Mary/Mark really did live a thousand lives, I just wish we were able to connect with some of them in a more meaningful way as they often felt like fractured parts of the person but never the full picture.
"I could pass again as a woman. And may yet in years to come. But I will never not be a sailor."
I'll admit, I was expecting more pirating. Perhaps it's a repetitive line of work that doesn't translate well to storytelling but I must say that I envisioned much more of the book to take place upon a pirate ship. I expected Mary would rise up the ranks of pirate kind, perhaps captain her own ship of multiple female pirates. However it seems Mary was one-of-a-kind female who seized her chance to jump aboard a sinking ship during the decline of piracy, never advancing beyond a shipmate. Could well be that I am just unappreciative of what is a realistic and factual retelling of history.. however, I can't deny that it was a bit of a reality check for a reader expecting female pirates galore embarking on bountiful swashbuckling adventures.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing & Francesca De Tores for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
May 7, 2024
A brilliant and thought-provoking debut, Saltblood is a must for historical fiction fans.
⚓️ Historical fiction, 17th & 18th century
📜 Based on the life of Mary Read
🏴☠️ Sailor, soldier, pirate
🏝 Gender fluid, non-binary, Bi
I've never read a book quite like it! Servant, sailor, soldier, wife, mother, merchant, and pirate, Mary Read's life is fascinating.
I love that we are now seeing so many women's perspectives in historical fiction novels, and that of normal women too (not just royalty or nobility). More than this, Saltblood gives an extraordinary insight into gender; the life of a girl raised as her brother, a woman who lives in the spheres of men, spaces not usually seen by women, and then living by turns as a man or a woman.
More than anything, Saltblood brims with the call of the sea and Mary Read's love for it. Tores' completely absorbed me into this period of history with her skilful writing. I felt I was on a ship in the Caribbean, camping as a soldier in France, feeling the walls drawing in around me as a wife, drowning with Mary in her loss in the Netherlands, to finding freedom from convention as a pirate, and love as she found it. The historical detail is amazing.
Read's exploration of her gender identity and sexuality is fascinating and thought-provoking. Especially as how she came to see herself as a sailor before either a man or a woman. A brilliant LGBTQIA+ read.
Make sure to add Saltblood to your TBR pile straight away!
⚓️ Historical fiction, 17th & 18th century
📜 Based on the life of Mary Read
🏴☠️ Sailor, soldier, pirate
🏝 Gender fluid, non-binary, Bi
I've never read a book quite like it! Servant, sailor, soldier, wife, mother, merchant, and pirate, Mary Read's life is fascinating.
I love that we are now seeing so many women's perspectives in historical fiction novels, and that of normal women too (not just royalty or nobility). More than this, Saltblood gives an extraordinary insight into gender; the life of a girl raised as her brother, a woman who lives in the spheres of men, spaces not usually seen by women, and then living by turns as a man or a woman.
More than anything, Saltblood brims with the call of the sea and Mary Read's love for it. Tores' completely absorbed me into this period of history with her skilful writing. I felt I was on a ship in the Caribbean, camping as a soldier in France, feeling the walls drawing in around me as a wife, drowning with Mary in her loss in the Netherlands, to finding freedom from convention as a pirate, and love as she found it. The historical detail is amazing.
Read's exploration of her gender identity and sexuality is fascinating and thought-provoking. Especially as how she came to see herself as a sailor before either a man or a woman. A brilliant LGBTQIA+ read.
Make sure to add Saltblood to your TBR pile straight away!
January 15, 2024
I felt Mary crammed a lot into her life I the first half of this book..
Navy, army, sailor... there was a lot going on.
The everything slows down completely when she meets Anne.
Then picks up for the biggest adventure yet... pirates.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable read, more so as its based on real characters.
Mary was incredibly likeable, and Anne too. They probably coined the phrase "sisters are doing it for themselves" about them 🤣
Action packed to the end.
Navy, army, sailor... there was a lot going on.
The everything slows down completely when she meets Anne.
Then picks up for the biggest adventure yet... pirates.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable read, more so as its based on real characters.
Mary was incredibly likeable, and Anne too. They probably coined the phrase "sisters are doing it for themselves" about them 🤣
Action packed to the end.
August 23, 2024
4.5*. Beautifully written and well-paced throughout. You can tell it was thoroughly researched, without the author ever labouring the point. I loved the idea of belonging to different names, and the nature of the sea versus rivers, and being witnessed by a crow…
November 6, 2024
Saltblood è tante cose: un romanzo storico, una storia sull’identità e sulla libertà di essere sé stessi; è una storia d’amore, un’avventura per mare con i pirati. Mary Read ci guida nella sua vita e si mostra per quello che è, senza nascondere nulla. È dalla sua prospettiva che conosciamo il mondo in cui vive, e anche gli altri personaggi: nonostante la prima persona, hanno tutti lo spazio per un’ottima caratterizzazione, non eccessivamente influenzata dalle opinioni di Mary. L’ambientazione, oltre che molto curata e precisa, emerge vividamente grazie alla scrittura immersiva dell’autrice.
Ringrazio l'editore e NetGalley per l'ARC!
Recensione completa✨
Ringrazio l'editore e NetGalley per l'ARC!
Recensione completa✨
September 9, 2024
Either I am just in a huge reading slump right now because I usually LOVE historical fiction or this book was truly so incredibly boring and hard to get through.
I kept having to force myself to pick it up and read a few pages while fighting off sleep.
It's well researched, well written and was such a good premise but it was so deadpan, I couldn't bring myself to care.
I kept having to force myself to pick it up and read a few pages while fighting off sleep.
It's well researched, well written and was such a good premise but it was so deadpan, I couldn't bring myself to care.
August 14, 2024
Quando ho visto l’annuncio di #neonlibri della futura pubblicazione di questo libro era felicissima! Mi aveva attirato già dalla sua versione in lingua originale, ma onestamente non sapevo bene cosa aspettarmi. Insomma, sembrava un salto nel vuoto preceduto da un sentiero misterioso…
Ma ne è valsa la pena, perché abbiamo davanti la storia singolare quanto profonda di Mary Read. La storia di una ragazzina costretta a fingersi il defunto fratellino e costretta ad una vita che non sente propria, a dover stare nei canoni delle aspettative altrui. A cosa condurrà una vita simile? Sicuramente al desiderio di libertà e di togliersi di dosso il pesante mantello del costante senso di inadeguatezza. Ma come farlo?
«𝑳𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒖̀ 𝒎𝒊 𝒉𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒆̀ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆. 𝑷𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂, 𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒊 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐 𝒅𝒊 𝒏𝒖𝒐𝒗𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒍𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑴𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒐̀ 𝒎𝒂𝒊 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝒅𝒂 𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒐.»
All’inizio ci prova arruolandosi nella Royal Navy, passando dall’esercito, ma solo all’interno di un altro ruolo lei inizierà a sentirsi davvero se stessa. Quale? Abbandonando le rigide realtà precedenti, avrà modo di esprimersi al meglio come pirata. E non una semplice, ma tutto il mondo imparerà a conoscerla come la più famosa pirata donna della storia. E potreste aver sentito questo nome pure voi, perché si, la nostra Mary è un personaggio storico realmente esistito, e questo rende la lettura ancora più interessante.
➡️ La recensione continua sul BLOG ✨
Ma ne è valsa la pena, perché abbiamo davanti la storia singolare quanto profonda di Mary Read. La storia di una ragazzina costretta a fingersi il defunto fratellino e costretta ad una vita che non sente propria, a dover stare nei canoni delle aspettative altrui. A cosa condurrà una vita simile? Sicuramente al desiderio di libertà e di togliersi di dosso il pesante mantello del costante senso di inadeguatezza. Ma come farlo?
«𝑳𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒖̀ 𝒎𝒊 𝒉𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒆̀ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆. 𝑷𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂, 𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒊 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐 𝒅𝒊 𝒏𝒖𝒐𝒗𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒍𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑴𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒐̀ 𝒎𝒂𝒊 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝒅𝒂 𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒐.»
All’inizio ci prova arruolandosi nella Royal Navy, passando dall’esercito, ma solo all’interno di un altro ruolo lei inizierà a sentirsi davvero se stessa. Quale? Abbandonando le rigide realtà precedenti, avrà modo di esprimersi al meglio come pirata. E non una semplice, ma tutto il mondo imparerà a conoscerla come la più famosa pirata donna della storia. E potreste aver sentito questo nome pure voi, perché si, la nostra Mary è un personaggio storico realmente esistito, e questo rende la lettura ancora più interessante.
➡️ La recensione continua sul BLOG ✨
Read
May 10, 2025‘In a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685, a daughter is born as her half-brother is dying. Her mother makes a decision: Mary will become Mark, and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money.’
And when the inheritance money ceases, Mary (as Mark) goes into service. As Mark, s/he can earn more money. When war (the War of the Spanish Succession) is declared in 1701, Mary (as Mark) joins the English navy. A period in the navy is followed by a period in the army, then a brief period on land with life in a more traditional female role. But another change in Mary’s circumstances has her returning to the sea where Mary becomes a pirate.
‘I take because the world has taught me to take.’
In writing this novel, Ms de Tores has largely adhered to what is known of Mary Read’s life. I was swept into Mary’s world through this first-person fictional account. I could smell the salt, appreciate Crow, and wonder about the relationship between Mary and Ann Bonny. Mary’s adventures during the golden age of piracy during the 18th century captured and held my attention, as did her pursuit of a life which transgressed traditional female roles.
Beyond Mary’s story, I wondered about the other women who served as men in the army and navy or became pirates.
Recommended historical fiction.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
And when the inheritance money ceases, Mary (as Mark) goes into service. As Mark, s/he can earn more money. When war (the War of the Spanish Succession) is declared in 1701, Mary (as Mark) joins the English navy. A period in the navy is followed by a period in the army, then a brief period on land with life in a more traditional female role. But another change in Mary’s circumstances has her returning to the sea where Mary becomes a pirate.
‘I take because the world has taught me to take.’
In writing this novel, Ms de Tores has largely adhered to what is known of Mary Read’s life. I was swept into Mary’s world through this first-person fictional account. I could smell the salt, appreciate Crow, and wonder about the relationship between Mary and Ann Bonny. Mary’s adventures during the golden age of piracy during the 18th century captured and held my attention, as did her pursuit of a life which transgressed traditional female roles.
Beyond Mary’s story, I wondered about the other women who served as men in the army and navy or became pirates.
Recommended historical fiction.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
May 14, 2025
This is basically the fictional autobiography of the famous real pirate Mary Read, filling in the scant historical material with plausible extrapolation. It's well-written, and narrated in the first person by Mary herself. Other important characters are Anne Bonny and Calico Jack Rackham. It takes about a third of the book to get Mary (back) to sea, and about half until she joins Rackham's crew as a pirate.
The book reads quite well, and I noted no major inconsistencies or naval blunders. I like the way most of the sea battles are over fast and relatively unbloody, since the victims usually ask for and receive quarter - few are willing to fight just to safe the insurers some money.
4 stars because it's not Hornblower ;-).
The book reads quite well, and I noted no major inconsistencies or naval blunders. I like the way most of the sea battles are over fast and relatively unbloody, since the victims usually ask for and receive quarter - few are willing to fight just to safe the insurers some money.
4 stars because it's not Hornblower ;-).
September 17, 2024
The almost notebook writing structure was difficult for me to grasp but still an enjoyable story, but I’ve read Robin Hobb, and thus I was left wanting so much more dialogue, descriptions and character and world building.
However, there were several parts poetically written and very quotable.
3.75-3.9 ⭐️
However, there were several parts poetically written and very quotable.
3.75-3.9 ⭐️
December 27, 2024
Inspired by the life of Mary Read, this is a fictionalised account of the doings of the famous lady pirate. It's brilliantly told and captivating throughout.
July 23, 2024
Credo che la storia di Mary Read non potesse esser stata scritta da nessun altro se non Francesca De Tores. Questo perché l'autrice ha una delicatezza di scrittura e profondità di connessioni che ti fa venire voglia di leggere altre sue opere ed entrare nel suo cervello per estrapolarne ancora.
Saltblood è un lungo percorso introspettivo che si chiude in un cerchio, è ricco -estremamente- di tecnicismi di mare e navali, per questo personalmente non l'ho potuto apprezzare a sufficienza. I primi capitoli mi hanno conquistata, Mary viene cresciuta come Mark (suo fratello morto) e non svilupperà mai una presa di coscienza binaria sul suo genere. Non sono invece rimasta coinvolta dagli eventi storici che accadono durante gran parte del libro. A tratti assimilabile ad un saggio con qualche dialogo, ho fatto davvero fatica a scorrere le pagine. Per i miei gusti, le parti davvero degne di rilievo sono i rimandi alla psicologia di Mary e l'evoluzione del suo rapporto con Anne Bonny.
È una biografia romanzata, pertanto c'è da aspettarsi molta storia e molti eventi di marina e pirateria di quel tempo.
Interessante anche il 20% finale e la chiusura del libro, che ci riporta un po' ai pellegrinaggi del pensiero che incontriamo nella prima parte del libro.
Non conoscevo questa figura storica, subito dopo aver letto il libro sono andata a cercare informazioni e sicuramente è presente accuratezza accademica da parte dell'autrice e verosimiglianza con la vita degli uomini (e donne) di mare.
Altamente consigliato a chi apprezza la storicità dell'epoca d'oro, per i miei gusti raggiunge un 4-⭐️. Grazie a Ne/oN libri e NetGalley per l'e-Arc.
Saltblood è un lungo percorso introspettivo che si chiude in un cerchio, è ricco -estremamente- di tecnicismi di mare e navali, per questo personalmente non l'ho potuto apprezzare a sufficienza. I primi capitoli mi hanno conquistata, Mary viene cresciuta come Mark (suo fratello morto) e non svilupperà mai una presa di coscienza binaria sul suo genere. Non sono invece rimasta coinvolta dagli eventi storici che accadono durante gran parte del libro. A tratti assimilabile ad un saggio con qualche dialogo, ho fatto davvero fatica a scorrere le pagine. Per i miei gusti, le parti davvero degne di rilievo sono i rimandi alla psicologia di Mary e l'evoluzione del suo rapporto con Anne Bonny.
È una biografia romanzata, pertanto c'è da aspettarsi molta storia e molti eventi di marina e pirateria di quel tempo.
Interessante anche il 20% finale e la chiusura del libro, che ci riporta un po' ai pellegrinaggi del pensiero che incontriamo nella prima parte del libro.
Non conoscevo questa figura storica, subito dopo aver letto il libro sono andata a cercare informazioni e sicuramente è presente accuratezza accademica da parte dell'autrice e verosimiglianza con la vita degli uomini (e donne) di mare.
Altamente consigliato a chi apprezza la storicità dell'epoca d'oro, per i miei gusti raggiunge un 4-⭐️. Grazie a Ne/oN libri e NetGalley per l'e-Arc.
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