I hadn't heard of Sabatini until quite recently, when I saw him credited as one of Arturo Perez-Reverte's major influences - along with Alexandre Dumas. That was enough to make me seek out a book!
This 1922 novel is the story that the movie starring Errol Flynn was based on - and it is indeed, as one might expect, a swashbuckling pirate adventure.
Peter Blood, an educated doctor with a military background, runs afoul of the law for giving medical aid to a political rebel against King James Stuart.
Condemned as a traitor, he's shipped off to the Caribbean and sold as a slave - where, of course, he chastely falls in love with his owner's daughter, Arabella.
His medical training gives him opportunities other slaves do not have - and when the chance comes, he makes an escape, seizes a ship, and turns pirate -
leaving his true love behind.
Many piratical adventures ensue, giving the book somewhat of the feeling of a serial - but enough of a plot runs through all Blood's escapades to tie it all together.
A fun, quick read, regardless of the novel's age - it's definitely withstood the test of time.
This 1922 novel is the story that the movie starring Errol Flynn was based on - and it is indeed, as one might expect, a swashbuckling pirate adventure.
Peter Blood, an educated doctor with a military background, runs afoul of the law for giving medical aid to a political rebel against King James Stuart.
Condemned as a traitor, he's shipped off to the Caribbean and sold as a slave - where, of course, he chastely falls in love with his owner's daughter, Arabella.
His medical training gives him opportunities other slaves do not have - and when the chance comes, he makes an escape, seizes a ship, and turns pirate -
leaving his true love behind.
Many piratical adventures ensue, giving the book somewhat of the feeling of a serial - but enough of a plot runs through all Blood's escapades to tie it all together.
A fun, quick read, regardless of the novel's age - it's definitely withstood the test of time.
