The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale

by R.M. Ballantyne

The Pirate City is a story about the Algerian pirates who were the scourge of the Mediterranean sea during the early to mid-1800s. They would plunder the ships of other sovereign nations, and as a result were a wealthy little city-state until their demise in the Barbary War. In this tale, set during the heyday of the pirates, a merchant and his sons Mariano and Lucien are captured aboard their trading vessel and taken as prisoners to the pirate capital of Algiers. Follow their adventures as they rescue other prisoners, experience life in the pirate city, and attempt to escape from their captors. Forced to endure slavery as Christian dogs before their Muslim captors, the heroes rely on Providence to bring their deliverance. R.M. Ballantyne spent time in Algiers and dressed himself as an Arabian while researching material for his book so that he might portray his characters and the story's setting with the greatest accuracy possible.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Adventure, Childrens, Christian, Africa

377 pages, Hardcover

Published May 27, 2007

About the author

R. M. Ballantyne was a Scottish writer of juvenile fiction.

Born Robert Michael Ballantyne in Edinburgh, he was part of a famous family of printers and publishers. At the age of 16 he went to Canada and where he served for six years with the Hudson's Bay Company. He returned to Scotland in 1847, and published his first book the following year, Hudson's Bay: or Life in the Wilds of North America. For some time he was employed by Messrs Constable, the publishers, but in 1856 he gave up business for literature, and began the series of adventure stories for the young with which his name is popularly associated.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A merchant and his two sons leave Sicily on a voyage, and are taken captive by a pirate from Algiers. They are enslaved, and during their many exciting adventures, we learn of the way of life in the pirate city. There is plenty of history included, along with some of the terrible ways of enforcing discipline which were used. Our main characters behave nobly, rise and fall in favor with the Deys (title of the king of Algiers), and eventually make their escape when all the slaves in Algiers were freed by the British.

I appreciate the fact that Ballantyne’s historical adventures are explicitly Christian. In this one, the gospel is presented to a dying man in the slaves’ prison.

Until reading this book, I had no idea about much of the history of Algiers, and this book was an easy and exciting way to learn.

[Ben Trelc · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (gal.3:28).In the book The Pirate City the citizens of the Pirate City all are treated differently some are treated poorly some are like a king and some are treated normally, but none of them are treated equally especially when Mariano, and Francesco, (the main characters) boat gets bombarded by people from the Pirate City and are immediatly thrown into a bagnio (a prison).With many risky attemps, the father and son finally manage to escape and get back home where are treated equally with love.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violent entertaining listening 🎧
Another will written violent thriller adventure by R.M. Ballantyne about a father, son, and cousin that are captured by pirates and taken to Algiers. There they are salves until they improve their positions and survive. I would recommend to anyone looking for something historical. Enjoy the adventure of reading 🕶 or listening 🎧 to books 📖🎉😎 2022

[Esther Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The historical element of this book is very good. As to the reading experience? It focused a bit too much on the occurrences and not the characters. I was also a bit frustrated by a small viewpoint, but overall, good read.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of the Algerian pirate city. I thought there would be excitement in this story, it being about pirates and all but found myself a little bored actually. This was in part because of the style of the writing but not entirely. I think the lack of a true main character may have been another factor in my boredom as the story floats from one character to another.

I found that Ballantyne did a fabulous job once again giving the historical facts with accuracy. I really learned a lot about the governments - such as many of the governments like Great Britain actually PAID the pirates a tribute every year instead of dissipating the pirate city entirely. :/ They actually allowed them to enslave their own people, paying them tribute, and then paying them again to free certain slaves from time to time as the family's were able to raise enough money. Goodness gracious!

Unfortunately, a tale of pirates enslaving people of various nations whose ships happen by is not one that is for the "faint of heart". Beatings with a rod until the bones are broken, beheading's, forced labor until the slaves were dead, and a brief scene of nudity told by a character were only a few of the inappropriate moments shared. I appreciate the author's willingness to not hide the facts, but still it is not something one enjoys or feels comfortable reading about.

Besides the accurate history the only other thing I enjoyed was the *very teensy amount of romance. My friends know I try to stay away from it in books so if I was actually looking forward to it that gives you an idea how bored I was reading this. ;)

I would not recommend this book, though it was an interesting read. There are far better Ballantyne books to be read - personally I'd not waste time with this one again.
I found it geared for ages of about 15+.

[Natalie Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every once in a while I find myself in a mood for a good story. So, ignoring the stack of books I was already in the process of reading, I quickly scanned my couple shelves of fiction books for any possibilities. A whole set of Ballantyne books stared off the shelf at me, so I decided to give this acclaimed author a try! The writing is superb, and I appreciated the historical veracity of much of the details that made their way into the story. The setting is the infamous Pirate City of Algiers. The reader is introduced to the city through the plight of the unsuspecting Rimini men when they are captured and forced into servitude. The story takes a number of twists and turns, and while I think some of the characters could have been further developed, it was still an engaging and worthwhile read.

[Gregory Monk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it better the first time I read this book a couple years ago, but it was still very enjoyable. I love Ballantyne's style for historical fiction although it would certainly not work for any other genre I can think of.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book! I suggest it all the way! But it will totally confuse you if you don't understand old English.

[Nathan Dunahoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars, because the first half is just a bunch of people getting brutally executed, and the storyline isn't very good anyway.

[Montana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique.

[Rebecca L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, very exciting and interesting and packed full of history about pirates! Argh matey I loved it! Five stars for being great!