A thrilling tale of piracy, justice, and honor on the high seas from the author of Scaramouche Retired soldier Peter Blood lives a happy, comfortable life as a physician in seventeenth-century England. Yet everything changes one fateful evening when he saves the life of the wrong patient: a young rebel involved in an uprising against King James II. For doing his job and obeying the Hippocratic … obeying the Hippocratic oath, the shell-shocked Blood is convicted of treason and sentenced to ten years in Barbados, toiling as a slave.
Once in the Caribbean, however, Blood has other plans. The daring doctor wins over his peers with his courage and skill, falls in love with the plantation owner’s niece, and begins to plot his escape. When a Spanish privateer attacks the plantation town, Blood seizes his chance, and with the help of his fellow slaves, pulls off a daring heist of the pirates’ ship. Based on a true story, Captain Blood is an immensely satisfying high-seas adventure for the ages.
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Although I read this book a few years back, I had to post about it. Without too many spoilers, this book plunges you into the period of the 1700’s. The main character, an educated doctor who transitions to a criminal of the sea by necessity, is full of wit and courage. You follow him on a series of mishaps and adventures across the Atlantic where he battles and defeats much larger enemies. What I really loved about this book was how much I learned about naval warfare and early American colonies. Would definitely recommend!
Captain Peter Blood is one of the best-developed protagonists I have come across in literature. From the outset, the reader can understand how Blood’s past experience as a physician and a soldier have informed his present character, and even more importantly, his responses to the trials to come. Blood comes across as a supremely intelligent and capable person, but of a suspicious and pessimistic nature that steers him into rebellion against corrupt authority and later toward a life of high-seas piracy. Though written nearly a century ago (1922), the novel’s language is fresh and unstilted, and the story moves at a brisk pace. The dialogues are masterpieces of irony and colorful expression as well as doing an outstanding job of moving the plot along. The novel offers non-stop action amid highly colorful and historically accurate settings in 17th century England and the Caribbean. If you are looking to lose yourself in an old-fashioned adventure of classic quality, you can do no better than Rafael Sabatini’s CAPTAIN BLOOD.
Great classic. Exciting high seas adventure with a touch of old fashioned romance! Beware……lots of old/archaic vocabulary and lengthy sentences.
The original great swashbuckler with great historical references. I read this when I was a teenager and it’s been a personal favorite ever since.
Researching my next book, I decided to read Captain Blood, an older pirate historical romance. Even though it was written in the early 20th Century, the book remains fresh and really fun (The movie with Errol Flynn is dated but I still love it). Now, granted, I do prefer books from the 20s, 30s and 40s, as you can tell in my writing style, but this is an easy-read, rollicking, and fun book loaded with descriptions so you get an excellent feel for the settings and era. The romance and swashbuckling is truly old-timey and a blast. I loved it and now I’m off to watch the movie again!
Rafael Sabatini is my favorite pirate novelist, with tremendous insight into the human condition through his characters. Captain Blood is a multidimensional
character and unforgettable. The story and plot twists are suspenseful as they are satisfying.