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Pirates: Truth and Tales
Pirates have long fascinated people, yet it was a harsh life for those who went "on the account," constantly overshadowed by the threat of death—through violence, illness, shipwreck, or the hangman’s noose. Helen Hollick explores both the fiction and fact of the Golden Age of piracy, and there are some surprises in store for those who think they know their Barbary Corsair from their boucanier. Everyone has heard of Captain Morgan, but who recognizes the name of the aristocratic Frenchman Daniel Montbars? He killed so many Spaniards he was known as "The Exterminator." The fictional world of pirates, represented in novels and movies, is different from reality. What draws readers and viewers to these notorious hyenas of the high seas? What are the facts behind the fantasy?
- GenresHistoryNonfictionPirates
328 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2018
5 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Helen Hollick
59 books526 followersI escaped London in January 2013 to live in North Devon - but was born in Walthamstow, North East London in 1953 I began writing at the age of 13. Desperately wanting a pony of my own, but not being able to afford one, I invented an imaginary pony instead, writing stories about our adventures together at every spare opportunity. In the seventies I turned to science fiction - this was the age of Dr. Who, Star Trek and Star Wars. I still have an unfinished adventure about a bit of a rogue who travelled space with his family, making an honest(ish) living and getting into all sorts of scrapes. Perhaps one day I might finish it.
I had wanted to become a journalist when leaving secondary school, but my careers advice was not helpful. "Don't be silly," I was told, "you can't type." (I still can't, I use four fingers.) Instead, I worked in a Chingford library where I stayed for 13 years although I was not very happy there - I did not realise it, but I wanted to write. The one advantage of the library, however, was the access to books, and it was there that I came across the Roman historical novels of Rosemary Sutcliff, the Arthurian trilogy by Mary Stewart, and the historian Geoffrey Ashe. I was hooked on Roman Britain - and King Arthur!
Reading everything I could, I eventually became frustrated that novels were not how I personally felt about the matter of Arthur and Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere).
By this time, I was married with a young daughter. I had time on my hands and so I started writing my idea of Arthurian Britain . I deliberately decided not to include Merlin and Lancelot, there was to be no magic or Medieval myth. My book was to be a "what might have really happened" historical novel, not a fantasy, and most certainly not a romance! What I didn't know, when I started, was that my one book was to grow into enough words to make a complete trilogy.
I found an agent who placed me with William Heinemann - I was accepted for publication just after my 40th birthday. The best birthday present I have ever had.
I had previously had a smaller success with a children's personal safety book (stranger danger) called "Come and Tell Me," a little story that I had written for my daughter when she was 3. I wanted to tell her how to keep safe in a clear and simple manner - with a message that could be easily remembered. "Always come and tell me before you go anywhere with anyone" fitted nicely. I was immensely proud when my little story was taken up as an official safety book by the British Home Office to be used nationally by the police and schools. An updated and revised version of "Come and Tell Me" was re-published by Happy Cat Books but is now out of print.
I followed on with two Saxon period novels A Hollow Crown and Harold the King - both are about the people and events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 - from the English point of view.
(these titles are published as The Forever Queen and I Am The Chosen King in the US)
When Heinemann did not re-print my backlist I took my books to a small UK independent publisher with their even smaller mainstream imprint, adding my historical adventure series the Sea Witch Voyages to my list.
Unfortunately Discovered Authors / Callio Press, were not as organised as they should have been and the company closed in the spring of 2011. Not wanting my books to fall out of print in the UK I took them to an indie company - SilverWood Books of Bristol UK - and with their technical assistance "self published"
I am also with Sourcebooks Inc in the US, with Artemis Yayinlari in Turkey, Sadwolf in Germany at Catnip Edizioni in Italy.
I was delighted to make the USA Today bestseller list in 2011 with The Forever Queen (US title of A Hollow Crown)
I have published two non-fiction books: Pirates Truth and Tales with Amberley Press and Smugglers : Fact and Fiction with Pen & Sword.
I also run an historical fiction review blog, Discovering Diamonds, with a dedicated and enthusia
I had wanted to become a journalist when leaving secondary school, but my careers advice was not helpful. "Don't be silly," I was told, "you can't type." (I still can't, I use four fingers.) Instead, I worked in a Chingford library where I stayed for 13 years although I was not very happy there - I did not realise it, but I wanted to write. The one advantage of the library, however, was the access to books, and it was there that I came across the Roman historical novels of Rosemary Sutcliff, the Arthurian trilogy by Mary Stewart, and the historian Geoffrey Ashe. I was hooked on Roman Britain - and King Arthur!
Reading everything I could, I eventually became frustrated that novels were not how I personally felt about the matter of Arthur and Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere).
By this time, I was married with a young daughter. I had time on my hands and so I started writing my idea of Arthurian Britain . I deliberately decided not to include Merlin and Lancelot, there was to be no magic or Medieval myth. My book was to be a "what might have really happened" historical novel, not a fantasy, and most certainly not a romance! What I didn't know, when I started, was that my one book was to grow into enough words to make a complete trilogy.
I found an agent who placed me with William Heinemann - I was accepted for publication just after my 40th birthday. The best birthday present I have ever had.
I had previously had a smaller success with a children's personal safety book (stranger danger) called "Come and Tell Me," a little story that I had written for my daughter when she was 3. I wanted to tell her how to keep safe in a clear and simple manner - with a message that could be easily remembered. "Always come and tell me before you go anywhere with anyone" fitted nicely. I was immensely proud when my little story was taken up as an official safety book by the British Home Office to be used nationally by the police and schools. An updated and revised version of "Come and Tell Me" was re-published by Happy Cat Books but is now out of print.
I followed on with two Saxon period novels A Hollow Crown and Harold the King - both are about the people and events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 - from the English point of view.
(these titles are published as The Forever Queen and I Am The Chosen King in the US)
When Heinemann did not re-print my backlist I took my books to a small UK independent publisher with their even smaller mainstream imprint, adding my historical adventure series the Sea Witch Voyages to my list.
Unfortunately Discovered Authors / Callio Press, were not as organised as they should have been and the company closed in the spring of 2011. Not wanting my books to fall out of print in the UK I took them to an indie company - SilverWood Books of Bristol UK - and with their technical assistance "self published"
I am also with Sourcebooks Inc in the US, with Artemis Yayinlari in Turkey, Sadwolf in Germany at Catnip Edizioni in Italy.
I was delighted to make the USA Today bestseller list in 2011 with The Forever Queen (US title of A Hollow Crown)
I have published two non-fiction books: Pirates Truth and Tales with Amberley Press and Smugglers : Fact and Fiction with Pen & Sword.
I also run an historical fiction review blog, Discovering Diamonds, with a dedicated and enthusia
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 11, 2020
Hollick looks at real-life pirates up to the end of the Golden Age and their fictional counterparts. This book also explores the public's fascination with and love of pirate tales. It's an interesting read with chapters short enough not to make you feel overloaded with information. As an introduction to some of the pirates included, this is a good place to start.
March 1, 2017
One might ask why we need another book that focuses on the ‘Golden Age’ of piracy – you know the one that takes place mostly in the Caribbean between 1713 and 1730 – but Hollick’s examination is far more than simply about those swashbuckling scoundrels. She sets the stage in her foreword, summarizing several key points:
a. real pirates versus their fictional counterparts;
b. society’s changing attitudes toward them, as well as its fascination with them;
c. definitions for all the various terms that denote pirates;
d. piracy through the ages; and
e. reality vs romanticism.
To emphasize these points her first chapter discusses “What We Think We Know about Pirates,” while the second focuses on “What We Ought to Know” and includes the caveat “(Skip This Chapter If You Don’t Want To Be Disillusioned).”
Within the 328 pages, she introduces us to a wide array of pirates, including some who rarely show up in other history books. Aside from the usual suspects (in no particular order) – Henry Jennings, Charles Vane, Samuel Bellamy, William Dampier, Bartholomew Roberts, Blackbeard, Jack Rackham, and William Kidd to name only a few – we also meet Daniel Montbars, Jan Baert, and Ignatius Pell (only a sampling). In addition, you’ll find a handful of governors, including Thomas Modyford, Alexander Spotswood, and Woodes Rogers. There are chapters on the 1715 wreck of the Spanish treasure fleet, medicine, ships, weaponry, clothing, and safe havens, not to mention interesting tidbits like the pirate plunder that funded a college.
Don’t fear though! Women get a fair shake, too. In addition to Anne Bonny and Mary Read, you’ll learn about Jeanne de Clisson, Elise Eskilsdotter, Ladies Mary and Elizabeth Killigrew, Jacquotte Delahaye, Anne Dieu-le-Veut, Jeanne Baret, Rachel Wall, and Grace O’Malley. What you might not expect are the other women who went to sea, such as Jeanne Baret, Hannah Snell, and Mary Lacy. Or the fact that a number of sea-songs concern females who donned male attire, joined the Royal Navy, and then were unmasked.
Nor is piracy the only topic explored within this book, although these are all related in some way. Since many pirates began life either as naval personnel or merchant marines, and because they rarely left behind detailed notes on the mundane details of their daily lives, Hollick discusses the tobacco and slave trades, indenture, fidelity, tattooing, shipboard life and navigation, and superstitions.
But wait! If you think that’s all, there’s still more. After all, the subtitle of this book is “Truth and Tales.” Not only does Hollick examine fictional pirates in print and film, she talks about writing from her own perspective as the author of the Sea Witch adventures, which star Captain Jesamiah Acorne, and she treats us to excerpts from some of his piratical adventures, as well as from Celia Reese’s Pirates! and James L. Nelson’s The Only Life That Mattered. Among the pirates of fiction you’ll find Captains Hook and Sparrow, Long John Silver, and Black Sails. As for Pirates of the Caribbean, she also shares the impact this series of movies has had on people’s lives. While she shares what books and movies get right and wrong, she also makes a great observation:
The limitless realm of the imagination when telling stories or writing fiction gives us leave to plunder reality as blatantly as those rascal scallywags plundered treasure. (29)
In addition to all this information, the book also includes a timeline that begins in 1492 with Columbus’s “discovery” of the Caribbean and Americas, and ends with the death of Governor Spotswood in 1740. There are a Glossary of Terms – more varied than often seen in nautical books – and Nautical Measurements, which come before the bibliography. There is no index, but scattered throughout the book are color photographs with interesting captions.
Another item that Hollick addresses pertains to an often-asked question: What about a pirate named so-and-so? To reinforce the fact that the majority of pirates are simply unknown or merely names in a document, she lists the crews of Stede Bonnet, Blackbeard, Edward Lowe, George Lowther, and Charles Vane. Most simply provide the person’s name and the trial’s outcome – all that is known about them. Only a few include additional information.
The book consists of fifty-three chapters, each two to thirteen pages long with the majority falling somewhere in between. Her explanation of the War of the Spanish Succession is concise and easy to understand, one of the best I’ve encountered. Much of the information on sea shanties and tattooing, which predominantly covers the time period after the Golden Age, pertains to sailors in general. The same is true about prisons and punishments, but all four subjects are enlightening. On occasion it’s difficult to distinguish what’s more myth than fact – good examples being Blackbeard’s many wives and pirate flags – since there are no footnotes or endnotes and myths are one topic she doesn’t cover.
The statement that the skill of smuggling led to the Revolutionary War and American Independence is an oversimplification. Gory details are explicit, but the book is geared toward adults and mature readers, just like her Jesamiah Acorne stories. There are enough misspelled words – not including the differences in spelling between British and American English – and missing words that readers will notice. But there is far more to recommend this book than these minor problems.
There are also two chapters that deserve special mention. The first is highly helpful for those who wish to mimic the way pirates spoke on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hollick lives in the West Country, the region where many seamen and pirates hailed from in the past, so she offers her expertise so you can learn some Devonish and speak it with a West Country accent.
At least for me, the most intriguing chapter concerns the real identity of Captain Charles Johnson, the mysterious author who wrote A General History of the Pyrates. She talks about the two current likely candidates – Nathaniel Mist and Daniel Defoe – and provides plausible reasons why neither choice is convincing. She puts forth her own contender– and no, I cannot even be tortured into sharing who that person is – which makes perfect sense, even if there’s no hard evidence to support this possibility. Even the reason for using the pseudonym of Charles Johnson works.
Don’t be fooled. This pirate book is unlike any other one. It resembles a scavenger hunt, and you’re never quite certain where the trail will lead next. Yet Pirates is entertaining and enlightening, with a good mix of facts and fiction. At times tongue-in-cheek, Hollick’s narrative holds your interest and keeps the pages turning. The inclusion of details outside the narrower scope of piracy provides a global perspective, rather than simply viewing the Golden Age marauders in isolation. Two additional strengths are the inclusion of lesser-known facts and general information that can’t be found in other piratical volumes. The questions she poses make you think and question what you’ve read in other books on piracy.
But this book may not be for everyone. Those who seek serious pirate history will probably want to look elsewhere. Pirates is geared toward readers seeking general information spiced with an entertaining cornucopia of fact and fiction that makes the book a tremendous resource for a pirate trivia game.
a. real pirates versus their fictional counterparts;
b. society’s changing attitudes toward them, as well as its fascination with them;
c. definitions for all the various terms that denote pirates;
d. piracy through the ages; and
e. reality vs romanticism.
To emphasize these points her first chapter discusses “What We Think We Know about Pirates,” while the second focuses on “What We Ought to Know” and includes the caveat “(Skip This Chapter If You Don’t Want To Be Disillusioned).”
Within the 328 pages, she introduces us to a wide array of pirates, including some who rarely show up in other history books. Aside from the usual suspects (in no particular order) – Henry Jennings, Charles Vane, Samuel Bellamy, William Dampier, Bartholomew Roberts, Blackbeard, Jack Rackham, and William Kidd to name only a few – we also meet Daniel Montbars, Jan Baert, and Ignatius Pell (only a sampling). In addition, you’ll find a handful of governors, including Thomas Modyford, Alexander Spotswood, and Woodes Rogers. There are chapters on the 1715 wreck of the Spanish treasure fleet, medicine, ships, weaponry, clothing, and safe havens, not to mention interesting tidbits like the pirate plunder that funded a college.
Don’t fear though! Women get a fair shake, too. In addition to Anne Bonny and Mary Read, you’ll learn about Jeanne de Clisson, Elise Eskilsdotter, Ladies Mary and Elizabeth Killigrew, Jacquotte Delahaye, Anne Dieu-le-Veut, Jeanne Baret, Rachel Wall, and Grace O’Malley. What you might not expect are the other women who went to sea, such as Jeanne Baret, Hannah Snell, and Mary Lacy. Or the fact that a number of sea-songs concern females who donned male attire, joined the Royal Navy, and then were unmasked.
Nor is piracy the only topic explored within this book, although these are all related in some way. Since many pirates began life either as naval personnel or merchant marines, and because they rarely left behind detailed notes on the mundane details of their daily lives, Hollick discusses the tobacco and slave trades, indenture, fidelity, tattooing, shipboard life and navigation, and superstitions.
But wait! If you think that’s all, there’s still more. After all, the subtitle of this book is “Truth and Tales.” Not only does Hollick examine fictional pirates in print and film, she talks about writing from her own perspective as the author of the Sea Witch adventures, which star Captain Jesamiah Acorne, and she treats us to excerpts from some of his piratical adventures, as well as from Celia Reese’s Pirates! and James L. Nelson’s The Only Life That Mattered. Among the pirates of fiction you’ll find Captains Hook and Sparrow, Long John Silver, and Black Sails. As for Pirates of the Caribbean, she also shares the impact this series of movies has had on people’s lives. While she shares what books and movies get right and wrong, she also makes a great observation:
The limitless realm of the imagination when telling stories or writing fiction gives us leave to plunder reality as blatantly as those rascal scallywags plundered treasure. (29)
In addition to all this information, the book also includes a timeline that begins in 1492 with Columbus’s “discovery” of the Caribbean and Americas, and ends with the death of Governor Spotswood in 1740. There are a Glossary of Terms – more varied than often seen in nautical books – and Nautical Measurements, which come before the bibliography. There is no index, but scattered throughout the book are color photographs with interesting captions.
Another item that Hollick addresses pertains to an often-asked question: What about a pirate named so-and-so? To reinforce the fact that the majority of pirates are simply unknown or merely names in a document, she lists the crews of Stede Bonnet, Blackbeard, Edward Lowe, George Lowther, and Charles Vane. Most simply provide the person’s name and the trial’s outcome – all that is known about them. Only a few include additional information.
The book consists of fifty-three chapters, each two to thirteen pages long with the majority falling somewhere in between. Her explanation of the War of the Spanish Succession is concise and easy to understand, one of the best I’ve encountered. Much of the information on sea shanties and tattooing, which predominantly covers the time period after the Golden Age, pertains to sailors in general. The same is true about prisons and punishments, but all four subjects are enlightening. On occasion it’s difficult to distinguish what’s more myth than fact – good examples being Blackbeard’s many wives and pirate flags – since there are no footnotes or endnotes and myths are one topic she doesn’t cover.
The statement that the skill of smuggling led to the Revolutionary War and American Independence is an oversimplification. Gory details are explicit, but the book is geared toward adults and mature readers, just like her Jesamiah Acorne stories. There are enough misspelled words – not including the differences in spelling between British and American English – and missing words that readers will notice. But there is far more to recommend this book than these minor problems.
There are also two chapters that deserve special mention. The first is highly helpful for those who wish to mimic the way pirates spoke on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hollick lives in the West Country, the region where many seamen and pirates hailed from in the past, so she offers her expertise so you can learn some Devonish and speak it with a West Country accent.
At least for me, the most intriguing chapter concerns the real identity of Captain Charles Johnson, the mysterious author who wrote A General History of the Pyrates. She talks about the two current likely candidates – Nathaniel Mist and Daniel Defoe – and provides plausible reasons why neither choice is convincing. She puts forth her own contender– and no, I cannot even be tortured into sharing who that person is – which makes perfect sense, even if there’s no hard evidence to support this possibility. Even the reason for using the pseudonym of Charles Johnson works.
Don’t be fooled. This pirate book is unlike any other one. It resembles a scavenger hunt, and you’re never quite certain where the trail will lead next. Yet Pirates is entertaining and enlightening, with a good mix of facts and fiction. At times tongue-in-cheek, Hollick’s narrative holds your interest and keeps the pages turning. The inclusion of details outside the narrower scope of piracy provides a global perspective, rather than simply viewing the Golden Age marauders in isolation. Two additional strengths are the inclusion of lesser-known facts and general information that can’t be found in other piratical volumes. The questions she poses make you think and question what you’ve read in other books on piracy.
But this book may not be for everyone. Those who seek serious pirate history will probably want to look elsewhere. Pirates is geared toward readers seeking general information spiced with an entertaining cornucopia of fact and fiction that makes the book a tremendous resource for a pirate trivia game.
May 2, 2023
A foray into pirate history with the occasional ad break for the author’s series of pirate novels. Can’t say that was to my taste but you have to respect the hustle, and some of the information was new and interesting.
August 2, 2024
It's difficult to choose a score for this book, as the good bits are really quite good while the poor bits are frankly an embarrassment.
Is it fiction or non-fiction? Is it an extended piece of journalism, a self-satisfied memoir, or blatant promotional vehicle for the author's other works? Is it in the first or third person?
It's all of those, plus a scrapbook of other material vaguely related to pirate lore and history.
The good bits include the potted histories of some pirates' careers, and the context in which the 'golden age' of piracy took place. Colonisation, the slave trade, incessant wars in Europe, greedy monarchs and traders, and near-universal poverty for the masses. I felt I understood a lot more as a result.
But these gems are severely diluted. Helen Hollick has written a number of novels including a half dozen pirate yarns, and boy does she like to remind us of that. Any discourse on a nautical theme will be interrupted by a casual mention of her books, her characters, her inspiration in writing them. She slips from third-person reportage to first-person commentary and speculation, and back again, with dizzying frequency. We are regularly reminded how clever she is, how she stands up for her artisitic principles, and what great business decisions she has made. We are treated to frequent lengthy extracts from her novels, and occasionally those of other writers. It all seems a bit self-serving and inappropriate.
Also verging on the inappropriate is Hollick's drooling appreciation of actor Johnny Depp in his role as the pirate Capt Jack Sparrow. It's just a bit ick.
The publisher has gone to the trouble and expense of including eight pages of colour pictures in the centre of the book, which is a rare chance for an author to add literal as well as literary colour. But all we get is a series of quite laughable stock photos of what a pirate looks like, what a chest of treasure looks like, what a hangman's noose looks like. A ship. A cannon. Some rope. It's a ridiculous way to squander an expensive insert.
Altogether, then, it's a book worth skim-reading to find the sections of interest, but be prepared to flip past the long sections of smug self-promotion.
Is it fiction or non-fiction? Is it an extended piece of journalism, a self-satisfied memoir, or blatant promotional vehicle for the author's other works? Is it in the first or third person?
It's all of those, plus a scrapbook of other material vaguely related to pirate lore and history.
The good bits include the potted histories of some pirates' careers, and the context in which the 'golden age' of piracy took place. Colonisation, the slave trade, incessant wars in Europe, greedy monarchs and traders, and near-universal poverty for the masses. I felt I understood a lot more as a result.
But these gems are severely diluted. Helen Hollick has written a number of novels including a half dozen pirate yarns, and boy does she like to remind us of that. Any discourse on a nautical theme will be interrupted by a casual mention of her books, her characters, her inspiration in writing them. She slips from third-person reportage to first-person commentary and speculation, and back again, with dizzying frequency. We are regularly reminded how clever she is, how she stands up for her artisitic principles, and what great business decisions she has made. We are treated to frequent lengthy extracts from her novels, and occasionally those of other writers. It all seems a bit self-serving and inappropriate.
Also verging on the inappropriate is Hollick's drooling appreciation of actor Johnny Depp in his role as the pirate Capt Jack Sparrow. It's just a bit ick.
The publisher has gone to the trouble and expense of including eight pages of colour pictures in the centre of the book, which is a rare chance for an author to add literal as well as literary colour. But all we get is a series of quite laughable stock photos of what a pirate looks like, what a chest of treasure looks like, what a hangman's noose looks like. A ship. A cannon. Some rope. It's a ridiculous way to squander an expensive insert.
Altogether, then, it's a book worth skim-reading to find the sections of interest, but be prepared to flip past the long sections of smug self-promotion.
March 26, 2022
Covers a very broad range of topics and discusses quite a lot related to them as well. Doesn't plunge into as much detail as other books, but that's fine considering the range of topics involved. She also mentions novels, movies and shows that I have both heard of and not (With one tiny reference to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I only assume that she hadn't played it otherwise it may have had larger mentions, as with Black Sails) and I even have ordered 2 more novels for my own project from it.
She also raised an interesting argument in the whole 'Who was Captain Charles Johnson' debate by going over Nathaniel Mist and Daniel Defoe, the two popular forerunners, but throws in a new hat into the ring: Woodes Rogers. She makes a fairly convincing argument for him as well and I could well believe it, to be honest.
A missed opportunity, other than not discussing Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Edward Kenway more, was when she was talking about healthcare and medical fields. And that was not mentioning Woodes Rogers ordeal. Considering he got shot in the face, had a musket ball lodged in his mouth for 6 months, likely lost a considerable part of his left jaw and had his ankle shattered and had a lot of the bones removed... How the fuck did this man survive? Not just at sea for 6 months with these terrible injuries but also the surgery he later went under? How did they not just remove his foot, considering the damage?
Like I said, missed opportunity.
But, that said, I love her fairly casual writing style. It was like she was delivering several personal seminars or talking to friends. It was nice. And for one so used to, what some people may call, 'stiff' academic or non-fiction texts, it was refreshing and a nice change of pace. Definitely a good starting off point, to be honest.
She also raised an interesting argument in the whole 'Who was Captain Charles Johnson' debate by going over Nathaniel Mist and Daniel Defoe, the two popular forerunners, but throws in a new hat into the ring: Woodes Rogers. She makes a fairly convincing argument for him as well and I could well believe it, to be honest.
A missed opportunity, other than not discussing Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Edward Kenway more, was when she was talking about healthcare and medical fields. And that was not mentioning Woodes Rogers ordeal. Considering he got shot in the face, had a musket ball lodged in his mouth for 6 months, likely lost a considerable part of his left jaw and had his ankle shattered and had a lot of the bones removed... How the fuck did this man survive? Not just at sea for 6 months with these terrible injuries but also the surgery he later went under? How did they not just remove his foot, considering the damage?
Like I said, missed opportunity.
But, that said, I love her fairly casual writing style. It was like she was delivering several personal seminars or talking to friends. It was nice. And for one so used to, what some people may call, 'stiff' academic or non-fiction texts, it was refreshing and a nice change of pace. Definitely a good starting off point, to be honest.
August 8, 2018
Helen Hollick's latest release, Pirates: Truth and Tales is a clever concept, as she uses a non-fiction book to show how her extensive research has led to the success of her popular fiction.
This fun exploration of the history and legends of the world of pirates is packed with interesting facts and fascinating details. Hollywood has, as usual, done it's best to mislead us about what it might have been like to live the life of a pirate.
The truth is much more complicated, as an amazingly wide range of seafarers might be termed pirates - but there are plenty of stories which are supported by historical evidence. Improved technology means that long-lost 'pirate' ships are being discovered, so our knowledge of how the real pirates lived continues to develop.
I was particularly interested in Helen's exploration of the lives of some famous seafaring writers, such as Daniel Defoe, who I knew little about. I enjoyed reading Robinson Crusoe as a child but hadn't realised Defoe is among the founders of the English novel.
We learn it was the Pirates of the Caribbean series that inspired Helen's Sea Witch series, and we sail with her as she looks at the difference between a buccaneer and a corsair, a brigantine and a caravel.
Complete with excerpts from Helen's novels and the words of sea-shanties to sing along to, this is a great book to dip in to - and like any pirate ship has treasure in the hold. Highly recommended.
Tony Riches
This fun exploration of the history and legends of the world of pirates is packed with interesting facts and fascinating details. Hollywood has, as usual, done it's best to mislead us about what it might have been like to live the life of a pirate.
The truth is much more complicated, as an amazingly wide range of seafarers might be termed pirates - but there are plenty of stories which are supported by historical evidence. Improved technology means that long-lost 'pirate' ships are being discovered, so our knowledge of how the real pirates lived continues to develop.
I was particularly interested in Helen's exploration of the lives of some famous seafaring writers, such as Daniel Defoe, who I knew little about. I enjoyed reading Robinson Crusoe as a child but hadn't realised Defoe is among the founders of the English novel.
We learn it was the Pirates of the Caribbean series that inspired Helen's Sea Witch series, and we sail with her as she looks at the difference between a buccaneer and a corsair, a brigantine and a caravel.
Complete with excerpts from Helen's novels and the words of sea-shanties to sing along to, this is a great book to dip in to - and like any pirate ship has treasure in the hold. Highly recommended.
Tony Riches
February 5, 2025
This could have been an awesome book, if it weren't for the inconsistent chapter lengths (some being three pages and some being ten pages long) the jarring conversational style of writing and the random sprinkling of the chapters from the authors fiction The Sea Witch, which I'm sure is a wonderful book, but randomly providing that narrative through our did very little to assist the reader in grasping the subject matter.
I was so looking forward to a romp through the history of pirating, the golden age of piracy and finding out more about the various names that have haunted the seven seas. Instead I was presented with a book that was a solid attempt at a factual account, but fell short in a number of ways. In the first; the narrative style was too conversational. I have read history books by historians who don't appear to take their subject too seriously, and I have never had to traverse a swamp of words quite like this one. In the second; the author doesn't do very much at all in the way of signalling where her opinion begins and the facts stop. And in the third; she picks up and puts down topics within the realm of piracy at such speed I had to re-read several pages to make sure I hadn't missed something.
With all that being said, once you learn *how* to read this it is fairly enjoyable and not too taxing, if you don't mind one sided conversation
I was so looking forward to a romp through the history of pirating, the golden age of piracy and finding out more about the various names that have haunted the seven seas. Instead I was presented with a book that was a solid attempt at a factual account, but fell short in a number of ways. In the first; the narrative style was too conversational. I have read history books by historians who don't appear to take their subject too seriously, and I have never had to traverse a swamp of words quite like this one. In the second; the author doesn't do very much at all in the way of signalling where her opinion begins and the facts stop. And in the third; she picks up and puts down topics within the realm of piracy at such speed I had to re-read several pages to make sure I hadn't missed something.
With all that being said, once you learn *how* to read this it is fairly enjoyable and not too taxing, if you don't mind one sided conversation
February 22, 2017
Pirates: Truth and Tales is the ultimate book about Pirates. Helen Hollick, through extensive research, examines the lives of these dastardly – yet nevertheless seductively attractive – kings of the sea without ever making it feel as though you are reading a text book. Individuals - the famous, the infamous and some not so well known - are dealt with not by chapter after chapter, but interspersed between chapters about everything you ever wanted to know – the ships, the traditions, their haunts, the songs they sang, their hierarchy and, really, so much more.
Add in those fictional pirates who have graced our screens over the years and excerpts from those who have featured in Ms Hollick's own books – Jesamiah Acorne of the Sea Witch series – as well as from other writers and you have a light-hearted yet thoroughly informative and entertaining volume that should hold pride of place on your bookshelf.
Oh – and in preparation for September 19th (every year) Helen also provides a more than useful guide on 'how to talk pirate'.
Perhaps not for young children as scenes 'of an adult nature' are included: nevertheless I thoroughly recommend this for anyone who has tried to imagine what life as a pirate would have been like
Add in those fictional pirates who have graced our screens over the years and excerpts from those who have featured in Ms Hollick's own books – Jesamiah Acorne of the Sea Witch series – as well as from other writers and you have a light-hearted yet thoroughly informative and entertaining volume that should hold pride of place on your bookshelf.
Oh – and in preparation for September 19th (every year) Helen also provides a more than useful guide on 'how to talk pirate'.
Perhaps not for young children as scenes 'of an adult nature' are included: nevertheless I thoroughly recommend this for anyone who has tried to imagine what life as a pirate would have been like
July 25, 2023
Really brilliant book - factual and informative with funny bits that made it an even better read. Randomly came upon it at the library in the throes of my hyperfixation on pirates and devoured it in a week, I found this book really easy to read due to the short, clearly themed chapters.
March 13, 2019
An entertaining and lighthearted book about the history of pirates and the authors passion for the subject shines through.
Would have benefitted from more illustrations.
Would have benefitted from more illustrations.
June 13, 2023
This book feels like the SparkNotes version of a better one. Initially I enjoyed Hollick's tone, but I soon grew tired of it, especially when it resulted in interjections that felt wholly unnecessary and at times overdone. The chapter order seemingly had no rhyme nor reason to it. By the time a pirate's contemporary's devoted chapter came around, I had often forgotten many of the names being referenced. Not to mention that the contents of these chapters were altogether too short and too shallow to properly satisfy my curiosity. The photo pages were a joke, mere stock images, and the sheer amount of excerpts from Hollick's Sea Witch series went beyond the level of shameless self-promo that I was willing to forgive. It was disappointing also that Hollick didn't even acknowledge non-European piracy. Perhaps this is because it would have been out of the scope of her focus on the 'golden age of piracy', but given how she was happy to devote several chapters to fictional pirates, I don't feel like it would have been too much to ask.
I got some interesting tidbits out of this but mostly I was ready to be over. Now to look for a better book on the topic.
I got some interesting tidbits out of this but mostly I was ready to be over. Now to look for a better book on the topic.
April 27, 2017
*Out of courtesy, the author and the publisher (Amberley) were both contacted before this review was posted, but neither responded.*
This book contains 249 errors of spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation. The errors begin on the copyright page and increase a few pages later in the Timeline where ‘Hans Sloan’ should be ‘Hans Sloane’ (p10). Here is a summary, with examples, of what this reader found:
- in the Timeline (p10) 1685 comes before 1684.
- there are straightforward spelling mistakes: hansome (> handsome, p32); yeilded (> yielded, p34); rum and coke (> rum and Coke, p83); acolade (> accolade, p147).
- many proper names are incorrect: Isle of White (p268), You Tube (p283), Kings Lynn (p250), Kiera Knightly (p244).
- verbs don’t agree with their subjects in terms of singular and plural: ‘the ship were in northern waters’ (p233); ‘The delight of this adventure story are…’ (p194); ‘Anne’s name and gender was widely known’ (p105).
- plurals follow an indefinite article: ‘an East Indiamen’ (p144), and follow a singular demonstrative pronoun: ‘at the back of this books’ (p259).
- there is consistent misunderstanding of how the hyphen is used to clarify meaning.
- ‘off’ and ‘of’ are confused (p164), as well as homonyms such as ‘principle’/‘principal’.
- apostrophes are misplaced and incorrectly reversed.
- perfectly spelled words are nevertheless wrongly used to create an error: ‘as the ship goers down’ (p43), ‘[a] solution was set in placer’ (p177).
- sometimes there is no spacing between words: ‘July1726’ (p284).
- the author twice misquotes the title of the book as ‘Pirates: Truth and Tale’ (p202, p319; the cover image on Goodreads, showing ‘Tale’, is incorrect), as well as styling one of her publishers, SilverWood as ‘Silverwood’ (p318).
I'm grading it 4* for the writing, and 1* for editing/proofreading.
So who is at fault here, for the 249 errors? I have to conclude that the author, who is probably the number one authority on pirates and their world (and who certainly writes with great gusto), has been very badly let down by Amberley, the publishers. Surely it does not reflect well on the author’s knowledge if the book prints the very well-known ‘Mary Celeste’ as ‘Marie Celeste’ (p18; a mistake also made by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1884) and the equally well-known ‘Judge Jeffreys’ as ‘Judge Jeffries’ (p10).
The experience of reading this book only reinforces this reviewer’s opinion that (semi-)mainstream publishers now put very little time (and presumably money) into getting the author’s text even close to being accurate and readable before publication, and thus have abandoned the role they traditionally played of ensuring that the author’s usually very hard work is presented in the best possible way.
On page 93 the author states: ‘My favourite desert is rum and raisin ice cream’. Editorially, one can laugh or one can cry.
This book contains 249 errors of spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation. The errors begin on the copyright page and increase a few pages later in the Timeline where ‘Hans Sloan’ should be ‘Hans Sloane’ (p10). Here is a summary, with examples, of what this reader found:
- in the Timeline (p10) 1685 comes before 1684.
- there are straightforward spelling mistakes: hansome (> handsome, p32); yeilded (> yielded, p34); rum and coke (> rum and Coke, p83); acolade (> accolade, p147).
- many proper names are incorrect: Isle of White (p268), You Tube (p283), Kings Lynn (p250), Kiera Knightly (p244).
- verbs don’t agree with their subjects in terms of singular and plural: ‘the ship were in northern waters’ (p233); ‘The delight of this adventure story are…’ (p194); ‘Anne’s name and gender was widely known’ (p105).
- plurals follow an indefinite article: ‘an East Indiamen’ (p144), and follow a singular demonstrative pronoun: ‘at the back of this books’ (p259).
- there is consistent misunderstanding of how the hyphen is used to clarify meaning.
- ‘off’ and ‘of’ are confused (p164), as well as homonyms such as ‘principle’/‘principal’.
- apostrophes are misplaced and incorrectly reversed.
- perfectly spelled words are nevertheless wrongly used to create an error: ‘as the ship goers down’ (p43), ‘[a] solution was set in placer’ (p177).
- sometimes there is no spacing between words: ‘July1726’ (p284).
- the author twice misquotes the title of the book as ‘Pirates: Truth and Tale’ (p202, p319; the cover image on Goodreads, showing ‘Tale’, is incorrect), as well as styling one of her publishers, SilverWood as ‘Silverwood’ (p318).
I'm grading it 4* for the writing, and 1* for editing/proofreading.
So who is at fault here, for the 249 errors? I have to conclude that the author, who is probably the number one authority on pirates and their world (and who certainly writes with great gusto), has been very badly let down by Amberley, the publishers. Surely it does not reflect well on the author’s knowledge if the book prints the very well-known ‘Mary Celeste’ as ‘Marie Celeste’ (p18; a mistake also made by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1884) and the equally well-known ‘Judge Jeffreys’ as ‘Judge Jeffries’ (p10).
The experience of reading this book only reinforces this reviewer’s opinion that (semi-)mainstream publishers now put very little time (and presumably money) into getting the author’s text even close to being accurate and readable before publication, and thus have abandoned the role they traditionally played of ensuring that the author’s usually very hard work is presented in the best possible way.
On page 93 the author states: ‘My favourite desert is rum and raisin ice cream’. Editorially, one can laugh or one can cry.
Read
February 11, 2019I enjoyed this informational background on pirates in the 16th, 17th and 18th century. I learned a great deal from reading this book that I didn't know.
April 20, 2019
Pirates: Truth and Tales is an engaging, unvarnished look at pirates and piracy. Everyone loves a pirate yarn, but this work take us beyond the swashbuckling myths of Hollywood to reveal who these men, and women, were, where they roamed, and the realities of “going on the account.” The usual suspects are included: the fascinating Calico Jack (my favourite), Blackbeard, Woodes Rogers, and even Captain Morgan (who was more than a figure on a rum bottle), as well as lesser-known (to me, at least) pirates such as Dampier. I particularly enjoyed learning about historical pirate havens, like Tortuga and Port Royal, and discovering the surprising number of women engaged in piracy, from all ages, including Aethelflaed! Helen Hollick uses numerous literary references to contrast and collaborate the historical record. Spending time with this book was like gathering around the fire listening to your favourite storyteller. Pirates is an entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable account, perfect for all pirate fans. Highly recommended!
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