Porto Bello Gold

by Arthur D. Howden Smith

This thrilling "prequel" to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate tale imagines how Captain Flint and Murray sacked the Spanish galleon and buried their ill-gotten treasure on the Dead Man's Chest and on Treasure Island

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Pirates, Historical Fiction, Novels

302 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1923

About the author

Arthur Douglas Howden Smith

Reviews

[Farzana Raisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

আমার প্রত্যাশার চেয়ে ভালো ছিল। অনুবাদ বেশ সাবলীল।

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prequel to Treasure Island, so well done that you might think Robert Louis Stevenson himself had come back and written it. The author totally nails all the characters, especially Long John Silver. It’s very exciting and very gruesome, but so was the original.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are several prequels to Treasure Island (including the TV series Black Sails) and I want to finally explore them. This one was written in the 1920s and is told through a new character named Robert Ormerod, a merchant's son who also happens to be the nephew of the notorious pirate Captain Murray (who was not a character from Robert Louis Stevenson's book as far as I remember). Murray forces young Ormerod to join a scheme to liberate a ton of treasure from the Spanish for political purposes. Piracy ensues.

The connection to Treasure Island comes from Murray's partner, the infamous Captain Flint. And Flint's crew of course includes Long John Silver, Billy Bones, and Blind Pew. Billy Bones is also a character, but he works for Murray as a steward whose great goal in life is to escape having to wear a uniform.

Porto Bello Gold is a great, fast-paced novel about the capture of the treasure that everyone's looking for in Treasure Island as well as the conflicts created by the treasure that need resolving in Stevenson's tale. It puts all the proper pieces in place, but avoids feeling like that's it primary purpose. It's very much a story about Ormerod and his allies (a mountainous frontiersman and the daughter of one of Murray's conspirators) trying to survive the schemes and shenanigans of the cutthroat crew they've been forced to join. The prequel stuff happens in the background, which is great. And it's all spiced up by a brilliantly faithful characterization of Long John Silver who's just as cunning and flattering as Stevenson wrote him.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me years to track this book down. On any recommendations or lists I've ever heard or read, "FOR FANS OF TREASURE ISLAND, ETC.", Porto Bello Gold has been listed as number one. But of course, it's out of print. However, it's worth the search and the drama of searching. This book is great; it's dramatic, exciting, adventurous. It's deeper than a simple pirate yarn, both younger and older fans will enjoy. Like most pirate, etc., novels I've read recently, it took me a while to get through (maybe a week, of moderate-to-mild reading). Very entertaining.

[Helmut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fünfzehn Mann auf des Toten Manns Kiste...

Heutzutage wird die Erbfolge der britischen Monarchie in Tageszeitungen diskutiert - soll der alternde Prinz Charles auf sein Thronrecht zugunsten seines Sohnes William verzichten? Solch ähnliche Diskussionen waren Mitte des 18.Jh., als unser Roman spielt, nicht nur eine emotionale Frage, sondern führten zu blutigen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen den Jakobiten, also Unterstützern des abgesetzten Hauses Stuart unter Führung von Bonnie Prince Charlie, und den Unterstützern der neuen Herrscherfamilie aus Hannover in Person von George II. Viele Versuche, die Stuarts wieder auf den britischen Thron zu bekommen, waren schon gescheitert, und nur ein massiver Geldeinsatz hätte den Jakobiten noch eine Chance gegeben, den "Ursupator" aus England zu jagen.

In "Porto Bello Gold" geht es letztlich um diesen Geldeinsatz. Andrew Murray, auch bekannt als der Pirat Rip-Rap und loyaler Jakobit, hat eine Vorstellung, wo das Geld herkommen soll: Aus den Schatztruhen der spanischen Goldflotte, die die jährlichen Einkünfte aus den Minen Süd- und Mittelamerikas nach Spanien bringen soll. Da er dabei Unterstützung und einen sicheren Hafen benötigt, tut er sich mit dem berüchtigten Captain Flint und dessen Meute aus Halsabschneidern, Mördern und Trickbetrügern zusammen, um den Raubzug des Jahrhunderts zu starten...

Geschrieben aus der Perspektive des Großneffen Murrays entsteht ein Vorläufer zu Robert Louis Stevensons 2Treasure Island2, das wohl jedes Kind kennt; viele der Personen, die man aus Stevensons Roman kennt, wie Long John Silver, Captain Flint, der blinde Pew, Ben Gunn (und sogar Darby McGraw!) tauchen auf.

Smiths Schreibstil begeistert mich: Ein sehr gediegender, rhytmischer Stil, bei dem die Sätze wunderbar ineinander fließen, eine literarische Sprache, in der man versinken kann. Die Sprache des 18. Jahrhunderts wird nicht nur in Dialogen, sondern auch im restlichen Text verwendet und gibt dem Roman Authentizität und Atmosphäre - so viel Atmosphäre, dass sogar Stevensons Literaturklassiker daneben verblasst. Selten genug, dass man das über einen Epigonen sagen kann: Smiths Werk finde ich deutlich besser als Stevensons Roman, es hat mehr Volumen und Dichte, und einen ungemein gut gemachten Spannungsbogen.

Das Taschenbuch von McBooks ist toll aufgemacht, gutes Papier, sehr schönes Coverbild von Howard Pyle, angenehmes Druckbild und feste Bindung.

Da ich "Die Schatzinsel" schon vor so langer Zeit gelesen habe, schließe ich deren Lektüre nochmals direkt an "Porto Bello Gold" an. Jeder, der sich nur ansatzweise für Piratenliteratur interessiert, muss diesen Roman lesen. Aber auch jeder andere, der einen Draht zu abenteuerlicher Literatur hat, sollte sich dieses ausgesprochen faszinierende Werk anschauen.

[Jeremy Blum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treasure Island is such a seminal work of pirate adventure literature that it inspired a bunch of spin-offs by authors other than Robert Louis Stevenson, and of them all, Porto Bello Gold seems to be the one that gets the most recommendations. As far as prequels go, it's an interesting (though flowery) read that explains exactly how Captain Flint acquired the treasure that would later be sought out by Long John Silver and the rest. The best parts are the fan service of seeing a fleshed-out Flint as well as younger versions of Silver, Billy Bones, Ben Gunn and the rest, though these characters mostly stay in the background, as much of the plot is centered around the son of a New York merchant named Robert Ormerod who gets roped into the schemes of his great uncle, a Jacobite-turned pirate named Andrew Murray who's working alongside Flint to steal the titular "Porto Bello Gold" from Spain. Arthur D. Howden Smith did a fine job in creating Murray, a gentleman rogue who truly believes his life as a pirate is in the service of the greater good, and other than a fat Dutchman named Peter who always seems to know how to survive difficult situations thanks to a life spent tracking in the forests of the New World, he's the most fascinating of the newer characters. But since this is a tale that needs to tie in with Treasure Island, Murray has to eventually vanish from the narrative, and when he does, the book is a bit lesser because of it. Still a solid read for those who've plowed through Robert Louis Stevenson's book and are desiring more.

[William Norrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Porto Bello Gold is the prequel to Treasure Island and the origin story of said treasure. Surprisingly Captain Flint and the Walrus are not the focus of the story. Although, late in the second half of the book they become more prominent. The story is about Captain Murray and his grandnephew, Robert (the protagonist). Murray kidnaps Robert to assist with the capture of a large treasure. Then he sidelines Flint with the promise that Flint will share in the treasure. How and why Robert is forced to join Murray’s crew as well as why the Walrus is to share in the treasure seemed non-sensical to me. Still, this was a page-turner. I continually asked myself, “How are they going to get out of this one”. This story has all the hallmarks expected from a pirate adventure: ship battles, storms, secret islands, and plenty of rum.

One odd thing is the censorship. I don’t know if it was this published version or if it was original to the first printing. Many words, I assume to be curses, are replaced with a dash. Most of the time I replaced the blank with a common curse but just as often I couldn’t think of any word that would fit. It was like a really bad Mad Libs.

Overall Porto Bello Gold was an entertaining read. Besides Flint, there are plenty of other characters that appear like Long John Silver and Billy Bones. This book is good for fans of Treasure Island but if you are just looking for some nautical (pirate-themed) fiction there are better offerings.

[Zac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Treasure Island fanfiction from 1924, Porto Bello Gold ups the adventure considerably, adding sea battles and hatchet duels to the mix. But the prequel can't quite live up to the original's power. Howden Smith is not a master plotter such as Robert Louis Stevenson, and though his use of the former tale's characters such as Silver and Bones are practically spot-on, his inventions never feel as fleshed out. The dreaded Captain Flint, phantom over the original story, is a truly a disappointment and never rises above the caricature that comes to mind when one thinks "pirate captain." Though written decades after Treasure Island, Porto Bello Gold feels a little more stuck in its time, as the author's unfortunate worldview bubbles up between the paragraphs more than once.

[S. M. Raihan Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

ট্রেজার আইল্যান্ডের অফিসিয়াল প্রিকুয়াল বলা যায়। বড়ো কলেবরের বইয়ের প্রধান সমস্যা স্লো এগোয়। শুরুর দিকে ডেভেলপড করতে গিয়ে তাই ধীরে এগিয়েছে। টানটান মুহূর্ত আছে অনেকগুলো। ইংল্যান্ড এবং স্কটল্যান্ডের রাজতন্ত্র নিয়ে একটি বিরাট আখ্যান নিয়ে এসেছে লেখক। উনিও সমসাময়িক হওয়ায় বইয়ের পরিবেশ নিয়ে নিশ্চিন্ত হওয়া যায়। যদিও ক্লাইমেক্সে কেন যেন ট্রেজার আইল্যান্ডের ধারেকাছে এটাকে রাখা গেল না। অনুবাদ জুতসই না।

[Kenneth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm diving into a bunch of Treasure Island pastiches. This one I made about ten percent through. Treasure Island is a tight gem of a book. The language, despite being written almost a hundred and fifty years ago, is easy to understand and pulls the reader along. Portobello Gold leans into the accents so hard it's like trudging uphill. Which might be okay if anything happened. I don't need this much info dump front loaded onto the narrative. Life is too short, moving on.

[Diego Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2
I didn't think I'd enjoy this book so much. It came recommended after having read Treasure Island, and it's a prequel to that book. But having been written almost 100 years ago, I wasn't sure I'd enjoy the prose. Well I did. A lot. Murray was an enjoyable character, definitely overshadowing Flint. I'm not even sure if it leaves any loose ends, but who cares.

[George Sulllivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!!!!!!!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great prequel to the classic Treasure Island. Swashbuckling intrigue galore.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book that I enjoyed reading at Christmas time. Originally was my grandfather's book and it brought back great memories. It's been ages since I read Treasure Island but from what I remember, this is a great "prequel" of sorts to it.

[Heiko Vainsalu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nautical terms!
What happened to Ben Gunn between the two books?

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 Surprisingly good!